On September 18, Samma and Sarah traveled to Detroit to see quannnic supported by kmoe at El Club in Detroit, MI.
Travel
Samma
During the trip to the venue, I had a slight headache; I’m not sure if it was the sterile smell of the bus or the fact that I was so excited about the concert. The bus ride there was short, since all of us talked the entire time — not a silent spell in sight. The town that holds the venue, Mexicantown, was beautiful despite the dreary weather. Both the rain and other fans were trickling near the entrance. Waiting for the venue to open felt like falling into a black hole, long and nerve-wracking, but eventually exciting as we stepped in.
Sarah
We were accompanied on our trip to Detroit by our friend Ishan, and since all of us are car-less freshmen, we had to take a bus. We boarded at around 2 p.m. and our two-and-a-half-hour ride was made to feel much shorter by our chatting about music and other fun things. It was cloudy and a little rainy in the city, but we were able to avoid all the bad weather and stay dry.
Once we got to Detroit, we went to a delicious Asian restaurant that Ishan recommended and I got to try pho for the first time (SO GOOD!!). Right after eating, we headed over to El Club to get in line. We ran into my online friend and spent some time hanging out with him and some other friends in line. Everyone there was super chill, and they were all dressed way cooler than me. It was humid from the storm but the temperature was comfortable as we all leaned on the wall, trying to listen to the soundcheck booming from inside the venue.
This was my first time in Detroit, and although we didn’t get much time to explore the city, I’m glad the first neighborhood I got to see was Mexicantown. On the way in, I caught glimpses of so many intriguing shops and restaurants. Beautiful murals spanned the sides of buildings, the striking colors highlighted by the post-rain sun. Even just from the little spots I witnessed, I was charmed by the neighborhood and I can’t wait to come back and explore in the future.
Crowd/Vibes
Samma
The crowd was full of people who were unconventionally and alternatively dressed. Unfortunately, I do have a staring problem, so I did glare in awe at some of the DIY and punk clothing.. Whether or not people came for one artist or the other, all of us were eager for the show. Although I have only been to two other concerts before (Cupcakke at Kalamazoo Pride and The Crane Wives in Grand Rapids, respectively) the etiquette and attitude towards the artists at this show far surpassed the etiquette at other shows. What I thought was so considerate was the fact that people in the front switched their places with people in the back so that everyone could experience kmoe and quannnic performing up close.
Sarah
As I mentioned, everyone who attended was dressed way cooler than me and it was a little intimidating. But the people I got to chat with were really nice for the most part and the vibes were overall pretty welcoming and chill.
I’ve been to shows where the audience just ignores the opener or talks over them and I find that to be sort of rude and a crazy vibe killer, so I was really happy with how hyped the crowd was for kmoe. The energy was so good for his set that the show almost felt like both kmoe and quannnic were headlining. We were at the very front for the opening act and everyone up there was jumping, singing along, and just having lots of fun.
We drifted back in the crowd for quannnic’s set to let some of the die-hard fans take our spots, and I really enjoyed being among the crowd. People weren’t as high-energy for the main set as the opener, which was just due to the style of their sounds — kmoe is much more hyperpop-adjacent while quannnic makes dreamy shoegaze rock. While kmoe’s crowd could be compared to a hot, sweaty, super fun microwave full of popcorn popping to the beat of his sound, quannnic crowd felt to me like a ship full of people being taken on a ride on the heavy, shifting waves of their music. There was lots of swaying during slower tracks like “Paperweight” and headbanging during songs with higher tempo like “How to Hold a Knife” and “Sheets.” I’d say the main contrast between the sets’ overall vibes in the crowd was that kmoe’s crowd was jumping and moving WITH the music, and quannnic’s was being pulled along into movement BY the music.
kmoe
Samma
Opposed to Sarah, I didn’t know about the opener until a month or so before the concert. The nature of kmoe’s music is severely different from his studio recorded tracks; the live music was more, with a lack of a better term, human than the studio tracks. I felt physically connected, thanks to being in the front row (and accidentally hitting the microphone cord with my hand as I danced); and metaphorically, as the bass resonated through my body, practically replacing my heartbeat with the deafening synths. Ultimately, kmoe’s music, both live and studio, is stupendous.
Sarah
kmoe’s eset was super high-energy and so much fun. I thought him and his guitarist/DJ did a really good job of hyping up the crowd when it slowed down a bit. kmoe was never awkward on stage, always moving and jumping along with the music, his movements matching the jerky and glitchy tones of his sound. His stage presence aligned really well with the energy in the room and the vibes of his music in general.
Some of my favorite moments in kmoe’s catalogue are the spots where the glitchiness and roughness of the electronic instrumentals contrast with the melodic smoothness of his voice, a feature I think stands out especially in the track “Head first” off of his new (and debut) album K1. I was really satisfied with how this aspect stood out when seeing him live. I thought his voice was mixed perfectly to stand out and float over the heavy, percussive synths of even the loudest and most upbeat tracks.
The setlist was all songs from K1, concluded by a separate single, “it gets lonely” from 2022. I was happy with the songs he played, although I was hoping to hear a couple personal favorites like “Don’t be like mouse” or his old collab with Jane Remover, “homeswitcher.” I think the songs he picked were live-show-friendly: easy to dance to and good for keeping a consistent vibe.
quannnic
Samma
quannnic is an artist that I, admittedly, found through TikTok in 2023. Their song “life imitates life” from their debut album, kenopsia, was the first song that introduced me to both their music and the genre of shoegaze in general. Through them, I had found Ozzga, Julie, kmoe, and, in adjacent genres, ghøwstie and black midi. quannnic launched me into a whole world I wasn’t used to, and I thank them for that. Listening to “How to Hold a Knife,” “Sheets” and “Jophiel” from their second album, Stepdream, in person felt so unreal and mythical. I can’t believe I got to experience it live. As I checked up on Sarah and Ishan mid-show, I noticed that everyone had paused their dancing and put their full focus on quannnic . They had definitely swayed the crowd into a hypnotic-like trance. I felt a little out of place sometimes, as I was dancing to most of their songs, but I too eventually settled down for the slower songs.
The only critique I have is that I think they could have made their vocals louder, as they were mostly drowned out by the instrumentals. I know that some people enjoy the instrumentals more than the vocals and vice versa, but I am a part of the latter half. I love hearing the subtle emotion in quannnic’s voice. To give love to the instrumentals, though, I admired how they shredded the guitar, how insane the drums were, and how every aspect was cohesive.
Sarah
I hesitate to use this word because I think it’s sort of overused when describing music, especially shoegaze, but I really think I could describe quannnic’s performance as ethereal. For the whole set, the loud, vibrating sounds blended seamlessly with the rich emotion of the music to fill the room with buzzing energy. This show really made it feel like the music was not just in my ears, but reverberating through my whole body, which of course can be partially attributed to the volume but also to quannnic and their band’s talent for powerfully conveying such rich emotions through their performance. This feeling of total immersion was especially prevalent during “Paperweight,” a melancholy, dreamy track that made me feel like I was floating along in the rhythm’s current, my emotions fully submerged and pulled along by the steady waltz-y beat and longing, droning guitars.
I really loved the transitions the band did between some of the songs, which featured long, buzzing tones as the band switched tunings and shifted moods. These in-between parts reminded me a lot of MJ Lenderman’s set I saw at Summerfest, as the whirring, distorted sound created an effect similar to a wind tunnel of noise that eventually melted into the next track.
quannnic had a few really incredible guitar solos, the standout one to me being at the end of “Observer.” During that track, I stared at the fretboard, fully hooked on watching their fingers pick out the haunting melody, almost hypnotized as I watched them warping the notes with bends and slight, skillful touches on the whammy bar. quannnic did an incredible job showing off their talent, and so did the rest of the band on their respective instruments. All of the repetitive, heavy sounds signature to quannnic’s music were in place, and I never noticed any instrument standing out too strikingly or blending in too softly.
I think the mixing made quannnic’s voice stand out a little more live than it does in their recorded music, which I personally appreciated. While I do like it a lot when shoegaze lets its otherworldly instrumentals drown out vocals, I thought it was nice to be able to hear the melody and lyrics a bit more clearly when listening live. quannnic’s voice is perfect for their sound: smooth, heavy, and angsty. Being able to hear that more clearly didn’t change the vibe but it altered the listening experience in a way that I really enjoyed.
Venue
Samma
Given the small venue, every interaction with another person felt intimate, pleasant. This created a homogeneous audience that shared an excitement for the concert. Wooden floorboards creaked under every step, creating a disharmony that somehow blended with the venue’s music. El Club’s “underground” home-made aesthetic completed the grungy ambiance, which made me think I was part of some super secret club for cool people (as if I wasn’t seeing an artist with almost 900,000 monthly listeners on Spotify).
Sarah
I’ve wanted to check out El Club for a long time, even before moving to the Lower Peninsula, and I wasn’t disappointed by my first experience. I was pleasantly surprised by the venue’s small scale and the intimacy it created. The staff were all very chill and helpful, and the temperature inside was as comfortable as it can be when packed full of sweaty people jumping around. The part I really liked was the little outside hangout area with picnic tables and a little yard area. Between the sets, we went to lay down on the rain-soaked fake grass and cool off. I haven’t been to a venue with anything like that before so I thought that was a really cool feature.
After the Show
Samma
After the show, I snagged a set list from kmoe’s set. I have never been able to get a setlist, and what made it special to me was the fact that it was hand-written. Then Ishan, Sarah, and I got in a line to meet and take a picture with kmoe. I did not expect him to be so tall, but his friendliness and respect for personal space made him less intimidating. In the line for quannnic, I started hopping up and down in excitement, purely because I have enjoyed their music for almost three years now. quannnic was the same as kmoe in terms of friendliness and respect. Both quannnic and kmoe were total sweethearts despite them just getting done performing for an hour each. I’m in awe of how much energy they gave every person they met.
Getting back to the dorms at 1:30 A.M. took more energy than the entire day needed; we were exhausted, but so exhilarated.
Sarah
After the show, we stuck around, took some photos, and got in line to meet the artists. Both kmoe and quannnic were very chill and happy to meet fans, and I got my setlist signed by both of them. We mentioned to quannnic that we were writing a concert review for Impact, and they asked if we were going to say how horrible the show was and how much we hated it.
We got a ride to the bus stop from one of Ishan’s friends, and spent another very sleepy two hours on the way back to EL. We got home a little after 1 A.M. The trip was long, but so worth it.
