The second to last city on the My Anti-Aircraft Friend tour. Berkeley, my first concert in the Bay Area. What better concert to be at than at a Julie concert? A Los Angeles trio consisting of Alexandria Elizabeth on vocals/bass, Keyan Pourzand on guitar/vocals, and Dillon Lee on drums. My Anti-Aircraft Friend being their debut album, where they continue to explore the dynamics of their art as a band. Thanks to the virality of their track “Flutter” that has allowed Julie to grow their fanbase continuously. This is how I ended up stumbling on their music and was introduced to such visually and sonically entrancing tracks. To my surprise, they were opening for Alex G’s summer tour which is how I was able to experience their music live for the first time. I was left completely enamored and when tickets were announced for their upcoming tour; I knew I had to be there.
Let me set the scene. Upon arriving at the UC Theatre, I was met with eager fans either lining up for merchandise or making their way to try and get as close as possible to the barricade. The clock hits 10 pm, the lights go out, the classical music blasting seconds prior turned to silence. The trio emerge and pick up their instruments directly in front of their infamous slumped teddy bear on an amp. They begin their set with ‘Catalogue,’ the first track on the album. Alexandria is the lead singer on this track, dressed in all black with a pink ribbon swinging from the headstock of her bass guitar.
Mid-set is where the newly released songs sung mostly by Pourzand are placed. ‘Thread, Stitch’, ‘Tenebrist’, and a personal favorite, ‘knob’; just to name a few. He takes center stage dressed in ripped jeans and a black New York tee, along with an array of equally impressive guitars. Moody and Melodic, these tracks allowed me to feel completely in tune with the voice echoing through the microphone.
The last track on their set, ‘Stuck in a Car with Angels,’ feels like such a perfect encore to set the tone for the rest of the night. Lee now on guitar also dressed in all black with a vibrant red ‘Polska’ patch on his shirt. He proceeds to join Pourzand and Elizabeth on center stage for half of the song. Then immediately and skillfully transitions into his classic intense drumming intertwined with Alexandria’s vocals; and just like that, the show was over.
Julie impress over and over again as they remain authentic and push themselves to continuously translate their creative vision from paper to the stage.