Andy Grammer stopped by Robsham on Saturday, with his acoustic set opened by BC band Juice.
“It’s fine by me / If you never leave,” bellowed Andy Grammer at his Saturday night performance in Robsham Theatre—and by the looks of it, the crowd would have been fine with him never leaving, either.
Presented by the Boston College Campus Activity Board (CAB), the concert featured Grammer, the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, in an intimate, acoustic setting. Last year’s BC Battle of the Bands winner Juice opened for Grammer, but with several of its band members missing, the small group identified itself as “Juice Box” for the night.
If one were to take a snapshot of Robsham from the center aisle forward, it would have appeared that Grammer brought in a large, expansive crowd. Zoom out of that lens however, and entering the frame would be the almost empty back section of the theatre—with the staple Eagle EMS students as the only ones posting up in the back row.
Even for casual fans of Grammar—who might have only been familiar with his more popular songs like “Keep Your Head Up”—Saturday’s performance had a fair deal to offer. So, for those who did not make it out to the back sections of Robsham, here are the top 9 moments from Saturday’s performance that you might have missed.
9. “Juice Box” On Robsham Main Stage
Juice began the night in more low-key style, opting for an acoustic vibe, and sitting in a semi-circle of sorts. The group performed several covers with casual sing-alongs segments, including Frank Ocean’s “Super Rich Kids”—each cover came, fittingly, with an added splash of Juice. Juice ended its set with “Where I Wanna Be,” an original song which has become a staple for the band. This closing number had a much more energetic feel than the rest of the set, working up the crowd right before the headliner was introduced. There also was the absurd high note that lead singer Ben Stevens, CSOM ’17, hit during a cover of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.” The pipes on this kid are unreal, and when he hit that high note (“some people need three dozen ro-o-o-o-oses”)—oh, baby. And he was sitting down, too, making it all the more impressive, considering the potential restrictions to his breathing.
8. “WAZUP”
While audience members were checking their phones for Saturday night plans or making sure they had the perfect angle and lighting for the almost-mandatory Instagram shot, Grammer popped up on stage with a resounding “WAZUP.” This laid-back, college-age dialect continued for the majority of the night. He flaunted his potty mouth and talked about attractive girls in the crowd—it was the type of conversation someone would have post 2 a.m. in Late Night on a Saturday.
7. Grammer’s Faces
Every time he hit a high note, or broke down into beatbox mode, Grammer’s face would scrunch up and get all wrinkly. Think of Popeye the sailor man after eating a can of spinach, or Sylvester Stallone in Rambo when he goes on a machete rampage. It happened frequently. He still looked good.
6. Andy The Mama’s Boy
Grammer frequently referenced stories of his recently deceased mother throughout the performance, even playing a song he had written for her entitled “Ladies.” The stories complemented the casualty of his Robsham performance, allowing for a more intimate and authentic connection with his audience. He’s hot, he plays guitar, and he loves his mom? This, my friends, is a rarity.
5. The Front Row fangirls
Fangirl (noun): A rabid breed of human female who is obsessed with either a fictional character, an actor, or a singer.
Grammer introduces a song called “Honey, I’m Good” referring to how hard it was to perform at colleges because the girls are “so f—king hot” while he has a wife at home that he tries to be “true to.” Appropriately enough, a sign held by the girls in the front stated, “Honey, I’m good, come to 45 Radnor Road.”
“Did you not just hear anything I said, girls?” Grammer said. “45 Radnor? All right, I’ll be there.” No word on the outcome of this invitation.
4. Keep Your Head Up
It wasn’t too much of a surprise that Grammer closed with “Keep Your Head Up”—the perfect song for the college application process. Especially when that less-than-helpful college advisor says your essay sucks. (I’m not bitter.)
3. The “Keytar”
For one song, Grammer whipped out this half-keyboard, half-guitar instrument that looked like it was straight out of Zenon: Girl of the 21st-Century. (Protazoa, is that you?) He subbed it in for the funky, electric bass part in “Holding Out.” To put it eloquently, it was sick.
2. Mixing Old and New
Insert Grammer’s new album plug here, because he surprisingly did not do it himself. He had the classics, as well as some new songs from his recently released album Magazines or Novels that kept well in the spirit of his work. This fresh material kept with Grammer’s upbeat, happy, acoustic sound. He even tossed in a cover of Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” into the set, and for an encore, he covered Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars.”
1. Street Performer Roots
For a majority of the concert, it almost felt like Grammer was lipsyncing, as he sounded exactly like he would on an iPod. He described to the audience his start as an LA street performer and all the characters he met along the way, ending with his song, “Biggest Man in Los Angeles.” His background as a four-year street performer before landing his first record deal explains his mature and strong vocals—and even explains how easily he connected with the audience. Bonus: A review encompasses all those notions of the senses: the sound, the aura of the audience, and even the appearance of the performance, good or bad. Two words: leather jacket.
Featured Image by Emily Sadeghian / Heights Editor
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