They say once you start traveling for concerts, you don’t go back. I found that to be true in my case, as I started traveling last summer to see Hozier in Berlin, Paris and London for his pre-album tour. Since then, I’ve had no second thoughts about buying tickets to see an artist, even if it’s abroad. That is how I found myself in Bristol to see The Beaches after going through two flights.
Who are The Beaches?
Canadian-formed band The Beaches started making music in 2013, but it is only last year that they became more popular with their single Blame Brett and their album Blame My Ex. Made of Jordan Miller (main vocals and bass), Kylie Miller (guitar and backing vocals), Leandra Earl (guitar and backing vocals), Eliza Enman-McDaniel (drums), the alternative indie band has been on tour worldwide this year. Their last single, Takes One to Know One, introduces us to their new era.
What Makes Someone Want to Travel for an Artist?
The first factor to consider is lack of availability when it comes to touring. A lot of artists go to specific places in Europe. When you compare their US tour to their Europe tour, you notice quite a difference between the quantity of concerts. The amount of places they perform in is also limited. As someone who lives in Belgium, we get a lot of artists to come here. However, a lot of artists also skip the country entirely (such as Taylor Swift or Billie Eilish who had a lot of EU dates, but not one in Belgium – rude!). With small artists, it’s the toss of a coin. They might be here, or they might not. The Beaches is one of those cases where I didn’t have much of a choice as I have a full time job and couldn’t travel during the week, so I chose the one concert they did on a Saturday, which was Bristol, UK.
The second determining factor is dedication. How far are you willing to go for an artist? How much money are you willing to spend? While there’s a lot of reasons why traveling is gratifying, it’s also taxing on your physical and mental health, and your wallet. Personally, I don’t take a flight just for anyone. The Beaches’ new album was an integral part of my life last year, their music describing my feelings in detail. Despite the immense amount of music I listen to, I keep going back to that album. If I didn’t get to see them this tour, I know I would’ve felt awful for missing out. That is what motivated me to take a flight to Dublin, then a flight to Bristol, and make my way to them.
Expectations Before the Concert
To be frank, the expectations were close to none. Since I wasn’t going to queue the entire day, I only showed up to the venue an hour before. Still, I got lucky and met with some amazing people who allowed me a space at the barricade after telling them where I had traveled from. Another part I love about traveling for concerts is getting to meet new people in new cities. Oftentimes, I meet people who also traveled from somewhere else to be there. You build an international network of friends at the same time with the shared interest of the concert. Being in the front row was more than what I had imagined. Getting to share the excitement with the people I met and a crowd of people who welcomed the artists as they deserved was even better.
Time for the Concert
The Beaches started the concert with Cigarette, which I’ve found through research is one of their favorite songs to perform. It’s interesting how the last song on the album was the introducing performance, but it is indeed a perfect opener. It’s queer, it’s rhythmic, and it encapsulates their energy well.
I was mesmerized by Jordan Miller, the main vocalist and bassist who takes center stage. Although most of the time my attention was on her, I couldn’t not notice the dynamics between the band members. You can tell there’s genuine energy between them, a friendship that goes past performing as a band. The two guitarists, Leandra Earl and Kylie Miller, would often perform facing each other, further showing their unique connection. Due to my placement at barricade, drummer Eliza Enman-McDaniel wasn’t visible most of the time, I could still hear how talented she is. There wasn’t one note off-beat, and we have her to thank for setting the rhythm.
The setlist was one of the most thought-out setlists I’ve witnessed in a while. While they obviously performed most of the songs off their album Blame My Ex, they added the highlights from their previous projects, such as Want What You Got, Grow Up Tomorrow and T-Shirt. The crowd appreciated each moment, the energy palpable in the atmosphere.
Memorable Moments of the Concert
Elaborating on what I meant by the dynamics within the band, there were several moments during the concert that stuck with me. During Shower Beer, Leandra headed towards Kylie and they had a quick kiss. It was very natural, which showed how comfortable they were with each other.
Another notable moment was during T-Shirt, Jordan sings the lyrics “I’m not sexy, itty bitty titty committee”. Before the lyrics, you can see Leandra pondering whether she should act on her new idea. Then, she gets to the front next to Jordan and lifts up her tank top to reveal a bralette as a hint that she’s part of the committee too, then patting Jordan’s top. It was a hilarious moment, with the band struggling to keep it together through the laughter afterwards. At the next show in Manchester, they re-did the moment with Jordan patting Leandra’s bralette this time. It’s queer, it’s cute, and it’s realistic.
Edge of the Earth is a song written by Leandra about a previous lesbian relationship. It’s full of love and emotion, to which Leandra prefaces it with a speech explaining if you’re in a relationship, you both should be ready to go to the Edge of the Earth for the other person. She reveals that although that person is now their ex, they’re still best friends. She then asks the audience to sing along if they’ve got lesbian trauma. Being the traumatized lesbian I am, I got really hyped for this one.
Leandra had another instance to shine during the performance of Kinkade, an unreleased song the band sometimes performs live, as she jumped off stage and walked among the path between the stage and the crowd. There was a moment at the end of the song when she was right in front of me. It was surreal to see an artist so close.
Jordan had some moments I memorized too. Part of being an incredible performer is the versatility she has. Before performing Grow Up Tomorrow, a song about acting immature for your age and postponing adulthood, Jordan stared at the crowd in silence while making wide eyes. The crowd laughed as the act went on for a minute. Earlier on, the band performed If A Tree Falls. Jordan showed a lot of emotion during the powerful ballad, her sadness and anger making the performance hit harder than expected. There is a duality in the expression of her emotions that makes the concert more vivid and truthful.
We Want More… The Encore
Encores became a tradition at concerts where the artists pretend to go away without performing one or two of their most popular songs, while the crowd chants for their return. The lights formed a sort of disco ball effect as the band returned on stage, and Jordan descended from the stage. They proceeded to perform Takes One to Know One, their most recent single. That’s when I got the chance to hold Jordan’s hand for a few seconds, which already made my night.
What I didn’t expect was that she’d return, singing right in front of me and holding out the mic for me to complete the lyrics during the iconic chorus. I feel very proud for not panicking as her face was really close to mine, but inside it was if I had reached paradise. I didn’t need more, the concert was everything to me – and most definitely worth taking two flights and not sleeping for thirty-hours because I decided not to get a hotel for a night.
After the Concert
Since I didn’t have my flight until early morning, I decided to wait behind the venue to see if I would get to meet the band. Having already done this for Hozier in Paris last year, I wasn’t expecting it to work. There were a few other people from the concert there, and I had the chance to make some new friends while waiting. When you travel for a concert, it’s inevitable that you’ll come back having made new friends.
After a short time, Eliza and Kylie left the venue and we got to talk for a few minutes. I was wearing a white t-shirt that had “Hotter Than You” embroidered on it, and both of them complimented it. Kylie told me I am hotter than them, which made us go back and forth because I disagreed. Eliza complimented one of my tattoos, and I was too stunned to reciprocate, given her arms were full of gorgeous tattoos. I told them I flew from Belgium because I didn’t have the chance to see them during Rock Werchter, and asked them to come back soon. They pretty much confirmed they’ll be back, which made me excited for future tours.
When Jordan and Leandra came out, I got to talk to Leandra first and I asked if she sensed I was a lesbian by performing that one song in front of me (she told she couldn’t see anything because of how hot it was in the venue, but it was still cute). Then I went to meet Jordan, where I confessed she made my entire night and that I was gay panicking the whole time. She was very shy, thanked me and told me she never knows what to say except thank you. I was surprised to see how different her personality was from her stage persona, but not at all in a bad manner. Overall, I was very happy.
Getting to hug all of them and capture the moment with pictures was very meaningful to me. I had already had a great night because of the concert, but the after concert sealed it as one of the best memories of my life. Interacting with artists will never not be special to me.
Thank you for reading about my concert adventures! There’s many more coming with the start of the 2024-2025 season, but in the meantime, you can check this article on a concert I’ve loved:
Author
