Photograph by Robert Nunez
Few times in my life have I thought, “Nothing could possibly ruin this moment.” Usually, the thought is never contested, the good vibes keep coming, and the euphoria continues to flow through my body. When I saw Enjoy’s set, the thought of something ruining the perfect moment I had bestowed upon me seemed unfathomable. Wyatt Shears thumped away at his bass to an energetic audience filled with young adults circle pitting, singing along, and dancing… some doing all three at the same time! A perfect moment indeed. Then something happened, the circle pit abruptly came to a stop. Confused about what was going on, I looked around the crowd to find out what had created this sudden halt. It was then I spotted the culprit: a puddle of vomit in the middle of the dance floor!
At first, people were hesitant to keep dancing. To be fair, there was a puddle of vomit on the ground. A couple of brave souls began to dance around the icky mess as the remainder of the attendees stood and watched in awe. Wyatt could tell that something was off, and called for the audience to continue pitting. This gave the fans the strength they needed to carry on with the circle pit. In only a minute span, the energy was restored.
Walking up to the El Rey Theatre, I knew I was in for a good show. People lined up around the block before the doors open is always a positive sign. The success that Enjoy has found in recent years has come over a long time of sheer grinding (haha). Since 2012, the group, which is better defined as the brainchild of Wyatt Shears, has released eight albums. Along with that, Wyatt is also in the legendary Orange County punk band, The Garden.
Photograph by Robert Nunez & Kat Gonzalez
The first act to go on was the experimental indie duo, Eyedress. Their chorus filled guitars and echoey vocals created a dreamy haze, while a drum machine pounded out dance-inducing beats. This sweet combination resonated well with the crowd, who were extremely lively throughout the whole set. The next act was Jasper Bones, a soul artist from Los Angeles. From the first note that Jasper sang, everyone in attendance knew that he was an amazing singer. His falsetto was so angelic that it sent shivers down my spine. He graced the audience with soft and mellow R&B tunes. A highlight of his set is when he covered Alicia Key’s “If I Ain’t Got You”.
After Jasper’s rather slow set ended, everyone in the audience was ready to move. Luckily for us, the next band on was Enjoy. The group, led by frontman and sole songwriter Wyatt Shears, also includes fellow Southern California based musicians Cowgirl Clue, Glitch, and his brother Fletcher Shears. White noise of forest sounds was played in between each song, which was odd, but it did have a sharp contrast to the indie-punk tunes played shortly after. The intense energy from the band was exponentially multiplied by the crowd. When Wyatt played “The Golden State” fans eagerly joined in and sang “C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A” along with him. This was truly a spectacle of Californian love and unity. Gavin Newsom if you are reading this article please consider making “The Golden State” our official state song. Wyatt also played fan favorites like “I Have Wasted So Much Time”. Throughout his set, the energy never died once, except for that snippet I mentioned earlier. When Enjoy left the stage the fans demanded an encore, which was fulfilled. The night ended on the same high note it started on, with only one victim.
