This time around, it wasn’t Boston Red Sox fans packing Lansdowne Street, but instead, the crowd was for a 23-year-old Texan with a cool voice and a commitment to getting his fans to dance.
Sloan Struble, better known as Dayglow, played a sold-out show at Boston’s House of Blues on Friday, Nov. 18.
It seemed that Dayglow was less concerned about putting on an elaborate show and more about having a good time and connecting with the audience. The concert felt like a dance party with your friends, encouraging audience members to forget about everything and just immerse themselves in the moment.
Struble mentioned that he hoped his concert would make his audience feel like Dayglow was a wedding band, playing for the crowd to enjoy themselves. This was certainly the atmosphere at House of Blues.
The concert began with the stage in total darkness. As white lights suddenly flashed across the stage, Dayglow came onstage playing “Radio” from his 2022 album People In Motion. Struble’s voice is smooth with a strong falsetto, and he sounded on stage just like he does on his records.
Struble smiled widely and moved with the music, appearing to genuinely enjoy himself onstage.
“I try to remind myself that everyone here wants to have fun,” Struble said in an interview with The Heights.
His desire to make the concert a fun experience for the audience was apparent throughout the night. Before his third song, “Hot Rod,” Struble exclaimed, “Thanks for showing up. We’re just having fun, baby. Let’s dance!”
Struble consistently engaged with the audience, including having the crowd yell out “Happy Birthday!” to a young woman in the crowd wearing birthday apparel.
“I want it to be a very performative and musical experience,” Struble told The Heights. “I try to put the emphasis on the crowd more than myself.”
Struble said that one of his favorite bands and biggest inspirations is the French pop-rock band Phoenix. He explained that while the band performs with great energy and is a lot of fun, Phoenix also gets straight to the point of the concert: music.
Struble spun around the stage, dancing with all the different band members. He even ran laps during “Close to You.”
Struble played synthesizer for a number of the songs. He also used a kazoo-like instrument and a voice-changing microphone for “Second Nature” and a cover of “FunkyTown” that smoothly transitioned into “Medicine.”
The lighting on screen drew the crowd’s focus to the music and the experience rather than just to Struble. The psychedelic patterns were entracing and allowed the audience to be immersed in the music.
The on-screen backgrounds also mimicked the feelings that the songs produce. For “Fuzzybrain,” the background showed a blue sky and clouds on the screen behind the stage, creating a serene atmosphere for the song.
Another standout was “Deep End,” during which live videos of the band were superimposed onto an image of the deep end of a pool. The other backgrounds often featured images of the band as it was playing, drawing attention to the musicians’ skill along with the music itself.
Before going into his biggest hit, “Can I Call You Tonight?,” Struble said “Let’s freaking do it, baby!”
The audience erupted in cheers.
The final song in the main section of the concert was “Close To You,” which Struble said is his favorite song to perform. Struble said he feels that this song allowed him to be more than a one-album artist and opened the door for him to make more music. The audience clearly enjoyed this song as well, as the lyrics were shouted while everyone danced along with Struble.
The encore consisted of one song from his new album “Second Nature.” Everything about this song felt like a party, from an elongated instrumental section at the end to Struble putting on a fan’s cowboy hat.
It was impossible not to dance for Dayglow, as his love of the music and enjoyment of being onstage was infectious.
“We’re playing for you to have fun,” Struble said.
The audience certainly did.
