In the midst of a rainy Boston Saturday evening, indie-pop trio almost monday brought some much-needed, sunny SoCal sounds to wash over MGM Music Hall in their opening set for The Band CAMINO.
almost monday — a San Diego-based band comprised of lifelong friends, singer Dawson Daugherty, guitarist Cole Clisby and bassist Luke Fabry — set off on tour with The Band CAMINO on Oct. 10, and will conclude their tour in Australia next year.
This supporting tour comes off the success of almost monday’s sold-out United States and European “DIVE” tour and summer festival performances, marking the end of the band’s “DIVE era.”
Only a week into the tour, lead singer Daugherty described the experience as a “dream come true.”
“Tour is cool, because I feel like you’re squeezing the juice out of life,” Daugherty said. “We kind of always say it’s like being on a pirate ship. You’re just [on to the] next place, and you’re moving a lot and you’re meeting a lot of interesting people. So you’re really living life to its fullest.”
Promptly at 8:15 p.m., a recording of “dive,” the title track of “DIVE,” started playing throughout MGM Music Hall. Then, bouncing out from backstage with an energy so infectious it filled every nook and cranny of the venue, Clisby played the fuzzy guitar intro of “is it too late?” It was the perfect introduction to almost monday’s impossibly catchy melodies and tunes so fun that you can’t help but dance.
“can’t slow down” was the band’s second song of the night and is one of almost monday’s most recognizable tracks. With more than 30 million streams on Spotify and a No. 1 spot on the Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart in January, it was a guaranteed hit with the crowd.
Daugherty said the band first found out that “can’t slow down” reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts on the first night of the U.S. leg of their “DIVE” tour in Salt Lake City, Utah, in Januar
Prior to this achievement, “can’t slow down” became almost monday’s first Top 10 song on Alternative Airplay.
“I kind of couldn’t believe it,” Daugherty said. “It took a second, but it was cool that it was the first night of tour. That felt kind of momentous … Kind of like you’re at the top of the hill planting the flag.”
Continuing the set, almost monday got the crowd involved with their next track “cough drops.”
“Boston, I want to sing with you,” Daugherty called out, inviting the crowd to sing along.
The audience’s participation, combined with the song’s driving bass line captained by Fabry, got the whole venue dancing — from the fans pressed against the barricade to venue staff, who took their phones out to record the set.
“lost,” the band’s newest release, also graced the setlist on Saturday night.
Daugherty, commanding the audience as if it was an almost monday headlining gig, got everyone to reach their hands up to the ceiling and dance to their newest tune.
“The song is sort of an ode to espionage and spy tactics and kind of the deep state of Europe,” Daugherty said. “Think Jason Bourne, James Bond, but with less tact.”
The “lost” music video was Daugherty’s favorite to record as it was filmed in five different countries during their “DIVE” tour. Before sound checks, he said the band would pile into a bus with their director to go out and shoot a scene in whatever city they were in, resulting in a variety of locations featured in the final video.
The band ended their set with “life goes by,” the last track from “DIVE.” Despite a brief audience safety scare during the song, the band finished their performance on a high and managed to maintain a consistent and contagious good mood throughout their set.
“That song really encapsulates our personality,” Daughterty said. “I feel a really big connection to it, because it’s some of the most basic lyrics probably ever written … but at the same time, they are, in my head, really profound, because what is life if you’re not doing what you love?”
Clisby agreed: He said “life goes by” is a song that makes him feel “the most proud” playing on stage.
Rightfully proud, almost monday exited the stage with the same electricity that they entered with. They left me — and the 4,500 audience members — uplifted, wanting more and booking our next flight out to SoCal to get another taste of that warm Pacific air that was scattered throughout the venue.
“Your art is kind of a reflection of the environment you’re in,” Daugherty said. “A trap artists might fall into, and we certainly have, is falling for the quick fix of ‘this is trending’ or ‘this is cool.’ … I think the world doesn’t need more of something else, I think the world just needs you to do your thing.”
