Bands Through Town
One Magic Moment with the Bad Suns
Words: Madisyn Siebert • Photos: Laura Ord
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are Bad Suns,” penetrated the ears of every guest in the Ready Room on September 8, as the indie-rock band proudly gleamed from the short stage in front of a packed room.
This was the second night of the Bad Suns’ Mystic Truth tour, and it was one for the books. The night was a full swing of energy, not only from the band but from the crowd as well. Production-wise, it was a simple show, but nothing more was needed because the energy from front man Christo Bowman was enough on its own. The setlist showcased the Bad Suns as they are, who they were and who they’re hoping to be.
The L.A.-based fourpiece came to fame with their single “Cardiac Arrest,” released in 2013. From there they made three albums featuring the one-of-a-kind synth indie-rock sound the band has trademarked as their own. Their music has such personality to it that no other band could recreate it if they tried—this shined through at their concert.
The band played favorites from every album and EP such as, “Daft Pretty Boys,” “Violet,” “Howling at the Sun” and “Salt.” Even songs such as “This Was a Home Once” that didn’t make the cut onto an album got the chance to be heard live. The band executed a well-thought-out set; some crowd favorites may have been left out, but the band did perform practically 20 songs during their set, definitely giving the crowd their money’s worth.
The best thing to watch throughout the night though was Bowman on stage. His energy could only be compared to that of a puppy, bouncing off the walls nonstop before crashing. The singer made sure to dance, sing his heart out, play the guitar and, on top of it, engage the crowd—from making them sing as loud as they could to getting them to all jump up and down.
Bowman made everyone feel included, at one point asking the crowd to raise their hand if they had ever been to a show before; he then asked for the crowd to raise their hand if this was their first Bad Suns show. After seeing the two results, Bowman smiled and said, “Well, welcome to the party, we’ve been waiting for you.” It was a moment where everyone was equal and there to just enjoy the music and the show.
Bowman did something opposite of his nonstop energy and asked the crowd to be quiet, something you never would expect at a Bad Suns concert. He steadied the silent crowd as everyone looked back at him for guidance on what he would do next. He brought out his acoustic guitar and played “Starjumper.” Everyone spoke in hushed tones as they took in the intimate moment before the band quickly transitioned in the song from the acoustic softness to hard rock again and got the crowd yelling again within seconds.
The concert felt like a blink of an eye because before the audience could process it, the band had left the stage. It immediately resulted in chanting and yelling for the band to return, the neediness of the crowd being a feeling that everyone—I’m sure even the bartenders—could feel in the room.
The band returned to the stage and executed a three-song encore of their most beloved songs: “Outskirts of Paradise,” “Cardiac Arrest” and finishing off with “One Magic Moment.” Honestly, they couldn’t have picked a better song to end with because it perfectly summed up what the show was: one magic moment.
