On June 2, I drove all the way down to see Australian singer-songwriter, Alex Lahey, for the second time. I first heard Lahey’s music last summer through her music video for her song “Every Day’s The Weekend” off her latest full length I Love You Like A Brother. I was instantly hooked by the four-note guitar riff, and relatable lyrics, with pop punk and indie rock influence. Before I even saw her live for the first time, I instantly bought her B-Grade University EP and her latest full length on vinyl. About a month or two after discovering her music, I was stoked to find out that the band would be playing at The Casbah in San Diego that December.
Fast forward to this year, I was glad to hear that Lahey would be touring the United States once again, and of course, I immediately bought tickets. This time, I would be seeing her and the band play at the Soda Bar in San Diego with female-fronted supporting acts.
After meandering the streets looking for a parking spot, I walked into the dimly lit bar just in time to catch openers Mittens. Mittens, a four-piece indie rock band from San Diego, played catchy, upbeat songs with layered harmonies.
The Whiskey Circle were second to open and they played a very dreamy, almost surf rock and folk rock infused set. Listening to their music, I could tell they are influenced by bands like The Black Keys, Bob Dylan, and Fleetwood Mac. Their sound included a lot of bluesy guitar leads, and dreamy vocals.
Alex Lahey’s band soon took the stage and started the set with “I Love You Like A Brother,” a tribute to her brother. The song begins with distorted guitar noise and a heavy drum beat leading to a catchy guitar riff and an even catchier verse. With the lyrics “You don’t like sports and I don’t like dresses. Luckily for us, our parents got the message”, Lahey sings about how she and her brother never fit the mold of gender stereotypes. Aside from the many hits from the latest full-length, the band also played older songs off the EP including “Ivy League”, “Let’s Go Out”, and my personal favorite: “You Don’t Think You Don’t Like People Like Me”. What I liked about the show was that there was so much positive energy and passion in Lahey’s stage performance. It was also so therapeutic to sing along and dance to such honest and relatable songs like “I Haven’t Been Taking Care Of Myself”, a track about not liking what you see in the mirror, and not being okay.
Catching Alex Lahey at the Soda Bar was such a memorable experience and I can’t wait to hear what music she’ll put out next!
See a clip of Alex Lahey’s performance filmed by Clint Pinkston below!
