Another weekend, another livestream concert. Actually, I’m saying this as if I’ve participated in a lot of them when in fact it’s only been my second one. While Anberlin was pretty great, I was very excited for and had high hopes for this concert put on by Bad Suns. I discovered this band back in 2014 with the release of their single, “Cardiac Arrest,” and I’ve sort of been obsessed with them ever since. Specifically their first full length effort, Language and Perspective, which is exactly what they were going to play through this Saturday!
Almost totally uninterrupted, the band played through all eleven tracks off the record in Palmquist Studios, where the album was recorded. With a variety of camera angles, it almost made for one very cool and very long music video! The band sounded incredible and as they went along, you could see them all loosen up a bit by adding in some dance moves. Love it! My personal favorites off the album are “Sleep Paralysis” and “Rearview,” so the best was saved for last obviously. There was a bit of an encore, and we were treated to their EP single, “20 Years,” which was a pleasant surprise.
Peppered throughout the performance were a couple pre-recorded bits. The first featured actor, Simon Rex as he blabbered on and on in order to try and sign the band. Turns out it was just Ray’s “dream” before they started the show. In the middle of the set we see the band in a makeshift studio with a really odd producer named Billy, before he decides to introduce the band to Eric Palmquist. We then see Palmquist in the studio waking up from this “dream.” Aside from the couple bits, we also got to see the unfinished “Dancing on Quicksand” video that never came to fruition.
Most exciting of all was the premiere of a new video and song, “Baby Blue Shades!” The video and song were both bright and upbeat, and all sorts of catchy – I really enjoyed it! Earlier this year the band released a few Mythic Truth outcasts, so this new track was quite the surprise. All in all, I had a great time watching and listening to this livestream. It helps that Bad Suns is a band I love and that they played through a record I adored. I would love for them to do like Anberlin and play through their other albums, but it’s a wait and see for now. Definitely the highlight of my weekend.