Those who spent their time at the Watsky concert were “down to get rowdy but with mutual respect for those around them”
by Paola Baretto
“Who are you guys and where is Watsky”, the openers said to tease themselves as they finished their first song. The crowd instantly replied with a strong “nooooo” in unison. They were actually enjoying both the openers: Feed The Birds and Chukwudi Hodge. “Welcome to the Family” is a fitting name for this tour, because his openers are actually his band members. In this way, Watsky is sharing his stage with them and letting them perform their solo artistic material. Watsky performed at the Catalyst on November 6th.
Feed The Birds is made up of Camila Recchio(Vocals) and Kush Mody (Bassist). All their songs were new, impressive, and unreleased. Chukwudi Hodge performs raps and is Watsky’s drummer. He is good at inducing crowd participation, especially when he brought his mom on stage (everyone cheered). I really liked his song “The Fade”. Watsky and his openers were all socially conscious, expressed positivity, and displayed their desire for everyone to be happy. Seeing them was an experience. It was more than just listening to a setlist, it was a whole performance.
Watsky started as a poet, competing in poetry slams around the bay area. It was a pleasant surprise to see him incorporate that in his music and performance. Yelling out things like “new shit” before singing. Talking about barnacles as metaphors of things that keep us down. According to Watsky, this was the first time he was able to take complete control over the setlist they performed. The show played it’s intense and soft points really well such as the plot structure to a drama. Building up tension with loud songs before stripping everything down to just Watsky and his mic. My favorite part, was when he had the audience participate in screaming for part a song. The drums were harsh, the lights red, the guitar noisy and three times the crowd added their screaming, letting it all out. In a quick shift, the lights went blue. Watsky started to conduct breathing exercises. The crowd followed, breathing in and out slowly. It was like a mini therapy session.
During the show Watsky said that the type of crowd that attends his shows are “down to get rowdy but with mutual respect of those around them”. People at the concert gave each other space, didn’t push in, and were conscious of consent. It was interesting to be among a crowd that activity participated, sang, danced, put their hands in the air, while remaining careful not to bump into others. I leave you with my favorite song: Wounded Healer.
Memorable moments: Watsky crowd surfed three times. Camila didn’t have shoes on. Watsky pulled his pants down during the “Don’t Be Nice” song. There was a trumpet solo. Songs played: Sloppy seconds, Whoa Whoa Whoa, Hey, Asshole, All Like Whatever, Tiny Glowing Screens Part 2.
