AWOLNATION: Falling Forward US Tour 13/11/2022

Where: Fox Theater – Oakland, California (USA)

Venue rating: 10/10 (really nice building with a lot of character and it has a water fountain which is a rare bonus)

Who I went with: Myself

Where I stayed: Europa Hotel in San Francisco (budget hotel which was a good enough roof over my head for the few days I spent there)

How I travelled there: My original flight from the UK was cancelled and I had to panic-book a new one which would get me here in time. There’s no way I was missing AWOLNATION! I then got a Lyft from SF to Oakland

Beverage of choice: Some Gatorade-type drink and then water from the fountain

SETLIST:

Freaking Me Out
Slam (Angel Miners)
Soul Wars
People
Kill Your Heroes
Run
The Best
Radical
Handyman
Passion (with Sound Witness System outro)
Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)
Knights of Shame (with Hyro the Hero)
Just a Friend (Biz Markie cover) (with Hyro the Hero) (Encore)
Pacific Coast Highway In The Movies (Encore)
Sail (Encore)

I’m so happy I got to experience this band live. I originally booked a week’s holiday in LA for Elton John’s “final” US show at Dodger Stadium but British Airways cancelled my flights. I took advantage of the terrible situation when re-booking my trip and added an extra week in order to see AWOLNATION and San Francisco (the city I most wanted to visit in California). They hadn’t announced their fall tour when I’d initially booked, so this worked out well for me – especially since they didn’t make it to Europe this time. I fell in love with the band when I first heard ‘Sail’ on YouTube over ten years ago as it was unlike anything I’d heard before and really stuck with me. I regret waiting so long to delve deeper into their discography because I’m now obsessed with all of their albums, as well as Aaron Bruno’s earlier work. I had a ticket for Kaiser Chiefs in Glasgow on November 11th which I didn’t want to sell, so decided to fly over to the US on the 12th and catch AWOLNATION on the 13th. Most of their shows were completely sold out, so I was incredibly lucky to nab a ticket for this. It’s a shame I just missed out on seeing them in Hollywood as it was their “hometown” show and also AB’s birthday but I’m grateful I could see them at all.

I had an unbelievably stressful time getting to this event, as BA delayed my flight for five hours before cancelling it altogether, meaning I had to stay an extra night in London and scour the internet for a new flight which would get me there in time. I ended up flying with Virgin Atlantic, which was much more pleasant than all of the flights I’ve had with BA. I’m so glad I discovered the website ‘StudentUniverse”, which provided me with a reasonable fare considering the flight was only about twelve hours away when I booked it. BA should reimburse me according to their policy but I swear the experience must have taken about twenty years off of my life. I was scared I wouldn’t make it, so I felt like pinching myself when I was standing in front of the stage, so close to the band. There was a decent crowd there by the time I arrived (I also had trouble getting into my hotel but that’s another story) but some left after the opening acts. A few of them seemed to only be there for Badflower. I got knocked forward by people in the “mosh pit”, if you could call it that. Being thrown around worked in my favour this time.

I visited the merch stall before entering the main area, as I didn’t want to miss my chance. Sometimes the stalls close before the end of the show and I also wanted to get back to SF in good time, as hanging around in Oakland after dark is a bit scary. I bought two t-shirts and held them over my arm all night, not having a large enough bag to put them in. Most venues don’t allow bags bigger than a sheet of A4 paper and are usually dead against backpacks. I tried to buy t-shirts from their online store in the past but it cost a fortune to ship to the UK. They had a great summer sale, so it’s sad it cost $60+ to ship the items over here. I couldn’t find a way around it, no matter what I tried. Maybe it’s different now but I’ll treasure these because they’re so difficult to get a hold of. My favourite of the two I bought is the blue one with the disco ball image on the front. I always describe the band as “disco meets rock”, so I thought this was perfect. I don’t know who designed them but they did a fantastic job.

An eclectic mix of songs played over the speakers between acts, which was highly entertaining. It was the same selection of songs that played during their recent live-stream, before their show in Philadelphia. The odd song choice made for a lot of funny and confused comments in the chat box between performances. They were songs such as ‘Copacabana’ and ‘Gloria’, which you wouldn’t necessarily expect to hear before such “rocky” acts as The Mysterines and Badflower but I think they are more in line with AWOLNATION’s disco-inspired music. The Mysterines came on first and effortlessly powered through their set, delighting the crowd. I wasn’t familiar with them at all but I’ll make sure to check out their songs again so I can fully appreciate hearing them live if I ever see them again. I enjoyed each of the songs and think Lia Metcalfe has a great voice. From researching them online, I gather they are a new “up and coming” band from Liverpool. They were a great choice of opening act and did well setting the mood for the rest of the night.

Badflower took to the stage after a twenty minute break and everyone went wild for them. It seemed a lot of people had seen them before and Josh Katz was surprised so many were singing along loudly to their songs. I have to say I preferred Badflower to TM as their songs were more my style and they interacted with us a lot more, with JK even dashing off into the crowd in a fit of madness during ‘Stalker’ (all part of the act, of course). A fan in the front row held up a sign and letter for him, which he graciously accepted and promised to read after the show. He held out the microphone to the guy next to me, so he could lean over the edge of the stage and dramatically sing into it. I think he was hesitant to accept the microphone at first, in case he was made to sing! I would have reacted the same way. JK discussed how sad he was about the tour coming to an end. Someone agreed with him and he hilariously replied something along the lines of “Why are you sad? You get one show! It’s not the same for you!” I usually moan about waiting through two opening acts but these bands were brilliant and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on their albums so I can relive the night.

AWOLNATION walked on stage to ‘What a Wonderful World’, which was a random song choice but exciting all the same. They started their set off with ‘Freaking Me Out’, one of their new singles from their upcoming album. I can’t wait to hear the new album, as both of the singles they’ve released so far are fantastic. AB said in an interview that this album includes all the best aspects of their previous ones and he sounds very proud of it. ‘We Are All Insane’, which they released after the tour had already started, has shot to my top three AWOL songs of all time after ‘Pacific Coast Highway in the Movies’ and ‘Knights of Shame’. I Tweeted them to gush about how perfect the set list for this tour is and they “liked” it, which made my week. Although it didn’t contain all of my top favourites, the setlist flowed well and the songs really showcased their versatility. I was sceptical when I saw ‘Just a Friend’ on the setlist featuring Hyro the Hero but it turned out to be one of the highlights for me. Of all the songs from their recent cover album I thought I’d most like to hear ‘Beds Are Burning’ or ‘Drive’ but this one was full of energy and Hyro the Hero’s actions throughout the song (about a relationship which was doomed from the start) were very funny.

I was concerned the setlist seemed a bit on the short side and noticed after researching their past set lists that they tend to only do ten to fifteen songs. They were on stage for about an hour and a half. AB told us they stopped performing ‘Knights of Shame’ for years because it felt too long (at ten to fifteen minutes) but every time he asks what we want to hear nine out of ten times we request it. He explained during the live-stream his goal was to create a song over five minutes long that “everybody didn’t hate” and it’s safe to say he was successful. I never imagined I’d get to hear it live as they did it for the tenth anniversary of ‘Megalithic Symphony’ (their first studio album) and I didn’t think they would perform it again so soon. Thank goodness they did! I would listen to that one every time I wanted to hype myself up for seeing them live. It’s a song which takes you on an emotional journey, so I get why people love it as much as I do. ‘Kill Your Heroes’ was another one of my favourites from the night, sounding even better in person. You can tell they know it’s one of the most highly anticipated songs as they really built up to it in the intro, announcing “It’s time to kill your heroes and fly!” ‘PCHitM’ was the perfect song to lead up to ‘Sail’. It took longer to grow on me than most of their other material but I am completely in love with it now and listen to it regularly. It’s such an unusual song and when the first few distinctive notes played almost everyone in the room let out a massive cheer. Lots of people sang along to the “chandelier part”, originally sung by Rivers Cuomo from Weezer. A Weezer song played in between acts too (‘Buddy Holly’), which was a nice nod to him.

I was sad when it all came to an end and the lighting returned to normal. Someone online claimed this may be the last time they tour as AB wants to work on solo projects, which is another reason I was so keen to see them. I’ve also managed to see most of my favourite musicians this year, which is a huge achievement. I hope what that person on Twitter said isn’t true and I doubt that it is, seeing as their new album is about to be released and they are clearly excited about sharing it with us. I need to save money if I want to see them again next year! I’m kind of hoping they hold off touring for at least a year, for that reason. Or that they come to the UK. It stung a little watching a few people either side of me get handed a setlist off the stage floor as I would have loved one but I’m always too nervous to demand one from the security guards. I hung around outside the venue for a while waiting for my Lyft back to SF and didn’t see the band exit the building, though one eager fan was waiting patiently by the stage door. I don’t know if they’re in the habit of greeting fans afterwards and I don’t like holding people up when they’re tired after a show and needing to get to the next one. I felt content just being able to see them perform and didn’t feel the need to pester them afterwards. I do hope I get to see them again as they’re one of the most mesmerising bands I’ve seen live.

GALLERY: