Dayglow The Tour – Dayglow (with support from Sun Room)
★★☆☆☆
On a perfect fall evening, Detroit welcomed Dayglow and supporting band Sun Room for Dayglow The Tour. The tour played at Detroit’s iconic Fillmore Theater, and the show drew an intimate crowd. It was a bit jarring to see the black panels of the main floor, but the show took place regardless. Sunroom soon took to the stage for their fourth show in Detroit.
The four-piece surf-rock band, born out of southern California, took to the stage with the ease of a band that knows how to perform for a crowd. The audience, clearly unfamiliar with the opening act, sat still and quiet as Sunroom performed their opening cover “Rumble.” Slowly, the crowd came to life, with people beginning to sway and nod their heads for the group on stage. With a crowd no bigger than the one for their own headlining tour, and notably smaller than the other tours they’d opened on, it seemed as though Sunroom was disappointed by their audience. With little engagement with the crowd, fairly straight faces (aside from the occasional jokes between band members), and lots of Modelo breaks, the band seemed unenthused and arguably bored during their performance.
Of course, tracks like “Sol Del Sur,” “Sunset Garage,” and “Just Yesterday,” as well as their new song “Get Me Outta New York City” got the crowd dancing. It is nearly impossible to listen to the fast-paced, summertime riffs found in most Sunroom tracks without getting a desire to move. It’s unfortunate, however, that the crowd and the band didn’t have the synergy for a memorable performance. That give-and-take so integral to a memorable show felt lacking, which was noticeable from the empty merch line at the moment of entry. After seeing Sunroom three times previously, I can confidently say this was their most lackluster performance (through no fault of their own). I hope their next trip to Detroit returns to their usual standards, both for their sake and for the sake of reaching new fans.
After a fun but generally unnoteworthy opening set, Dayglow took to the stage with flashing lamps and a stripped version of “Junior Varsity.” The track, coming from their first studio album, is a fan favorite, and stripping the instrumentals to only drums and a guitar riff created the perfect entrance soundtrack. Dayglow is the solo project of singer-songwriter Sloan Struble, and he was joined on stage by three performing members.
The crowd, while small, felt engaged from the start. With Dayglow quickly performing the smash hit “Hot Rod,” audience members sang and danced with energy only found at intimate shows with true fans. While there weren’t many, those who attended clearly cared about the music, the band, and the energy. Dayglow himself certainly contributed with instrumental breakdowns, dancing, and a club-like light design. The energy cultivated during the show was undoubtedly a high note.
Struble eventually told the crowd to get ready for “an acoustic set” as he “went a bit country” for “Crying on the Dancefloor,” “Like She Does,” and “Fuzzybrain.” However, acoustic is a very generous word here, as there was no real stripped performance. Struble swapped an electric guitar for an acoustic one, and all else stayed the same. The drilling kick and strobe lights felt out of place for the proclaimed acoustic performance. While these elements certainly kept the crowd alive and the energy up, it also was cause for a bit of confusion, because why would you claim an acoustic set if you don’t strip the sound?
After a head-scratching three-track run, Struble performed a few more tracks from his latest self-titled project. “Old Friend, New Face,” “This Feeling,” and “Nothing Ever Does!!!,” while great, were clearly not why the audience was in attendance. The crowd’s connection to the music waned as the show carried on. By that one-hour mark, it felt like we were watching an opening set again. Struble was by no means performing like one, but the crowd’s engagement with and knowledge of the tracks fell flat. By this point, the show felt like it was dragging, which was unfortunate as these recent Dayglow projects deserved recognition.
Thankfully, the band soon left and returned for a hit-filled encore. With the trio “False Direction,” “Listerine,” and “Rule The World!!!” from Dayglow’s widely acclaimed Fuzzybrain, the audience was more energetic than maybe any other point of the show. Spinning around in the venue, I was hard-pressed to find a single person not jumping along and singing at the top of their lungs. The crowd was small, but by this point, it was mighty.
Overall, it was clear that Dayglow The Tour would have been much better suited for a smaller capacity venue. This is a theme that has been corroborated by journalists and fans alike throughout the length of the tour. Unfortunately, those in charge of booking for Dayglow missed their mark, and the tour suffered in an awkwardly filled space. However, when overlooking the crowd size, the engagement and excitement of those in attendance was significant. They didn’t mind the empty venue; in fact, fans took advantage of the space to dance and sing along. They wanted to show their support, and they did so magnificently. I was certainly enraptured by the enthusiasm of Dayglow’s fans. It’s not the kind that I see regularly, and I am impressed by his ability to build and retain such a committed fan base. It was truly the star of the show.
Listen to Dayglow’s latest album here.
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