“A bomb-ass meal”―that is how Cherub member Jason Huber would describe his band’s music.
If Cherub’s concert was a meal, the audience devoured it. From the electricity that seemed to fill the air to the plethora of clothing items enthusiastically tossed onstage, the crowd came hungry and left happy.
“I didn’t really know what to expect, considering it was my first time going to a Cherub concert,” freshman Jasmine Johnson said. “I have to say that I was super impressed and extremely happy with how it turned out.”
The night started off at approximately 9:15 p.m., when two musicians emerged under The Blue Note’s iconic teal-tinted stage lights. The humble duo called themselves Boo Seeka and hailed all the way from Australia. The lead singer had deep, syrupy vocals with a voice similar to Hozier. The backup tracks got the whole crowd grooving; the band’s were arguably more darker and heavier than Cherub’s, but still had the electronic influences that were compatible with Cherub’s electro-indie sound.
After performing a cover of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by The Eurythmics, the lead singer yelled “Cheers!” in a cheeky Australian accent and took a swig of the bottle of wine that was resting on the amplifier in front of him. Although the venue was not completely full during the first act, the feedback from the crowd at the end of the set filled The Blue Note with applause.
The second opening act went by the name Frenship, and was more rock-based than Boo Seeka. Heads as far as the eye could see were banging throughout the duration of each song, and girls shrieked at the opportunity of getting to touch hands with some of the artists. The band ended with their song “Capsize,” a song that most of the crowd seemed familiar with, which featured singer Emily Warren’s ethereal vocals.
During both opening acts, Cherub member Jason Huber made an appearance and got the crowd engaged with both lesser-known acts by playing heavy bass lines while dancing with various members of the bands.
By the time Cherub came on stage, soon after 11 p.m., the crowd resembled a pack of sardines; audience members spilled over the barricades that separated the press from the rest of the crowd and fumbled through the sea of people to get a better angle of the stage on their smartphones.
And all of a sudden, the famous duo, Jason Huber and Jordan Kelley, emerged on stage. As the lights dimmed to a soft halo around both performers, the famous warped-vocal chops of the song “Disco S—” exuded from the stage’s main speakers.
The band balanced their set list from a variety of tunes, from their most popular album, _Year of the Caprese_, to singles that will soon be released off Cherub’s latest album, _Bleed Gold, Piss Excellence._
Perhaps the only thing missing from the show? Amplified vocals. The backup tracks for all of Cherub’s songs were blaring through the amplifiers, yet some of Jordan Kelley’s lower vocals remained masked under Jason Huber’s thumping bass lines.
Otherwise, Cherub delivered a satisfying and lively performance; the band was especially enthusiastic on stage and interacted with fans in the front rows throughout the duration of the concert. At one point, the crowd even sang “Happy Birthday” to none other than Jordan Kelley himself, as he took a few shots and sipped from a Corona that he proceeded to nurse during the latter half of the show.
Popular songs the band performed included “Work the Middle,” “Chocolate Strawberries” and “Freaky Me, Freaky You.” Another favorite amongst the crowd was a song off their new album, titled “Signs” featuring T.I.
Like every well-respected band does at the end of the concert, Cherub walked off-stage and waited a few minutes for their encore. Echoes of “M-I-Z” and “Z-O-U” bounced of the walls of The Blue Note until Cherub came back on stage to the beginning chords of “Doses & Mimosas,” a song that charted at number 43 on Billboard’s Rock Airplay and 23 on the Alternative Songs Chart.
Even when the band walked off stage, many audience members stayed on the dance floor to jam to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” over the loudspeaker, many of whom were cheery and intoxicated ― just how every Cherub concert should end.