By: Monica Shannon
FRIDAY SEPT 26 –Pulling up to the doors of the Regency Ballroom in San Franscio to see Between Friends opening night of their WOW! TOUR! we weren’t sure if we were in the right place with a short line.
The GoldenVoice app was glitching out, but luckily, the AXS app pulled through with my tickets ready to show at the door. As we walked in, we were for sure in the right place, a circular entry filled with a crowd of people with cute outfits and even a friend group with colorful wigs in a corner. To the right, a coat check room, straight ahead, the venue, and to the left, bathrooms and a bar with the merch booth tucked into a corner out of sight from the entrance.
Walking into the packed venue, opener VALÉ, a Colombian pop it-girl who just came off opening for the Driver Era’s recent tour, was finishing up the last half of her set. Covering MIA’s “Paper Planes,” she got the crowd excited as I felt the floor shaking beneath me. Putting on a Colombian flag for her song “Lo Tengo Mal,” she promised to teach the crowd a bit of Spanish during the vintage surf rock-sounding tune. Closing out the set with “fit mami,” she brought double the energy after the drummer had a slight fumble partway through the song, restarting with ease. She was the perfect opener, curating the vivacious energy, commanding the stage, and even doing a meet and greet after the show.
Waiting for Between Friends, a warning came up on the screen on stage for epilepsy, then at 9:15 PM, the crowd got a screen showing WOW in different fonts and color schemes, setting up for a party we wouldn’t forget. The duo hit the stage covered in SF winter levels of fog as they performed “You and Me Time.”
Playing their third song, “American B*tch,” they brought out an American flag with their faces on it as I saw fans on the balcony flock over to the railing, getting closer to the stage. I suspected the sold-out show had fans sneaking onto the floor as the balcony looked empty.
As the two performed fan favorites “Affection”, “XD”, and “Bruise”, the energy only grew, turning the space into a high-energy club rather than your normal concert experience. The night peaked with an extended version of “JAM” as lights flashed, they crawled around on stage and picked up mic stands to hear the crowd shout lyrics back to them.
There was an attempt to crowd surf behind me as someone got friends and strangers alike to carry them through the crowd; however, they couldn’t get more people on board to carry them to the front. By the end of the night, they finished on a high note with “DJ,” and as the crowd shouted “one more song” to no avail, the lights came up.
Debriefing the concert, we concluded that Between Friends is “exactly who they think they are,” effortlessly mixing more calm emotional songs with party anthems in glow-in-the-dark outfits, using edgy camera work, to a crowd that can’t get enough of them.
If you are heading to the Regency for your next concert, make sure not to bring gum, or else your brand-new pack will go to waste. But if you want to bring pepper spray for the journey, you can, just have security hold it outside the venue so you can get it after the show.
It’s crazy how times have changed. With the warning before the set to take in consideration those who are sensitive its a great move forward. Thanks for the tip with the gum and the pepper spray, actually so helpful!