By Ivan ocoa,
As someone that has rarely gone to concerts these past couple of years, this year was very
eventful for me. I went to a variety of different shows and saw a bunch of different artists, some
better than others( we’ll get to that later). I’m gonna go over all of them in this blog post; in total
I went to 6 concerts which is lowkey rookie numbers but to me that’s a lot.
1st concert/event:
Skepta DJ set in LA: honestly this was kinda wack, I love Skepta as a rapper and he’s a rap
legend but I won’t lie, his DJ stuff was pretty weak. The venue was terrible, people were pushing
like crazy and overall super rude and I left early (5/10) would not recommend
2nd concert/event:
The Hellp Dj set at wicked west San Diego: this won’t be the only time The Hellp is on this list,
my guilty pleasure group and #1 artist on my spotify wrapped, The Hellp had a dj set and it was
honestly one of the best i’ve seen in a long time. The energy was crazy even though it was
outdoors, openers were kinda lacking and as much as I like their music, I felt so out of place;
almost everyone there was doing their best Noah Dillon and Chandler Lucy cosplay; size 28
heidi jeans, leather jackets, cigs; the epitome of performative. Kinda cringe but hey to each their
own, i’m hating a lil too much (8/10)
3rd concert/event:
Oasis Rose Bowl Pasadena Night 1: this is what most of this blog is gonna be about. three words
to describe this concert; euphoric, legendary, BIBLICAL!!!. This is a concert that I don’t think
will ever be topped for me due to a combination of so many different things. I got into Oasis
fully last year and it changed my life no BS, I only ever knew wonderwall and champagne
supernova but they are so much more than that and they quickly became my favorite band of all
time. The emotions of Noel and Liam Gallagher reuniting for the 1st time in 15 years, the
amount of people traveling from around the world to see Oasis reunite and the energy in the rose
bowl that night is something I can’t fully describe. Signing don’t Look Back in anger with
80,000 people is one of the highlights of my life so far. I definitely had a Britpop summer and if
they do a 30th anniversary show for their Knebworth performance next year, best believe I will
be there 10/10 (best concert I’ve ever been to). Cage the elephant also opened for them and wow,
I forgot they had that much bangers(7/10)
4th concert/event:
2Hollis SOMA San Diego: I’m gonna be real I do not remember half of this show; I may or may
not have been under the influence(hehe). It was the 1st night of the star tour and from what I do
remember boy was it lit. For someone that is still kinda new to the scene, 2hollis has amazing
stage presence and you can tell he really cares about his craft. This was also a concert where I
felt a little out of place too though, so many little jits and here is me, a 24 year old dude with his
friends moshing to jeans. I also met Hollis’s mom in the crowd and she was super cool and
genuine so bonus points for that (8/10). Also Nate Sib was an incredible opener, that boy can
singggg, mic was onnnnn and I think he has a pretty bright future if he keeps it up.
5th concert/event:
The Hellp (again) NOVO LA: This was my 2nd time seeing The Hellp this year but this time
they were actually performing instead of DJing (3rd total) and man was this kinda disappointing.
Veronica Everheart opened up for them and I thought she was a pretty cool act, she also had a dj
set at the previous show and this was my 1st time seeing her perform her own music which was
nice; a cool blend of grunge, electronic music (7/10). The hellp was a little disappointing from
what I’ve previously seen, I think it was a combo of the crowd being kinda dead as usual for
most shows in LA and the lack of new stuff that they had put out up to that point. I was also in
the back and the previous time I had seen them I was pretty much front row so that definitely
played a part in it too. Overall kind meh still love those dudes but they could be better (6/10)
6th concert/event:
Yung Lean Hollywood Palladium LA: wow wow wow. Yung Lean is one of my favorite artists
ever and he doesn’t tour too much in the US so this was a pretty rare opportunity to see him live
and I’m glad I took advantage of it. Xaviersobased opened up for him and a huge fan of him, his
performance was kinda trash; a lot of background vocals and not enough actual rapping and also
DJ renessy needed to chill with the siren and gun sound effect every 5 seconds (5/10). Lean was
so good, his setlist was a good combo of his newest album and his hits spanning his entire
discography, Miami Ultras live was so tuff and Agony live was beautiful (may have shed a tear
or too).
