Back in May of last year, I was in a Walmart getting ready to get my second COVID vaccine shot when I looked at my phone and saw that my BANDED boss, Rebecca sent me a post saying that The Aces had announced a tour. Thank god I was wearing my mask because I grinned almost immediately and was already feeling so excited. I had been a fan of The Aces for a few years at that point, so I knew I was determined to go to this concert.
Finally, four months later, I bought a VIP ticket to the show - where I would get inside the venue over an hour or so early, get an exclusive Q&A session with the band and also a short acoustic set.
December 17th finally comes and I’m feeling so excited and stoked for what’s in store. This would not only be my first time seeing The Aces - this would also be my first VIP experience so I was beyond ready. I arrived to the venue over an hour before they were supposed to let the people who bought VIP inside the venue and once I got my VIP lanyard, I stood in line and I could feel my heart racing.
Finally, over 40 minutes past the time we were supposed to go inside, we walked into the venue. When getting in, I scored a spot in the second row and there was no barricade. I then realized later it was going to be easy to interact with the bands during the show.
Probably five minutes into being inside, I asked a girl if she could save my spot so I could score a band shirt - which is always my MUST when attending a show. As I was getting ready to purchase my shirt, I heard The Aces lead singer Cristal speak. Immediately, my head turned and as soon as I bought my shirt, I walked back to my spot.
I didn’t have a question prepared prior to the Q&A so I thought of one right on the spot and towards the end, I asked them - which song off of Under My Influence did they enjoy performing the most on this tour?To which they said “New Emotion”. I couldn’t blame them because that is a fun song. Following the Q&A, they performed one song on acoustic. Right as they were walking away, I waved to Cristal and she waved back to me. Once again, thank god I had my mask on because I was grinning ear to ear.
After a while, the first opening act came out on stage - Sawyer. Up until that night, I had never heard of them, but the second they started playing, I was amazed. When it comes to opening acts, does anyone else ever feel like you get so into them that you just want more and more from them once it ends? I was already feeling that with Sawyer. They had some great energy and the vibes in their music really had me hooked. So much so that sometime after their set, I walked to their merch table and saw them there so I talked to them for a few minutes.
The next opening act came out sometime after - The Beaches. You wanna talk about badass opening acts? Look no further. Right as they walked out on stage, a girl in the crowd shouted out, “You’re so hot!” Which was one of my favorite moments.
Between them and Sawyer, I would say that I really got super into The Beaches. As explained before, I loved Sawyer, but The Beaches? It had been so long since I last went to a concert and walked away being really super into the opening act. The energy and punk vibe they had in their sound was beyond infectious and everyone in the room was vibing along to that energy. It was the kind of energy that I just wanted more of.
Finally - The Aces came out on stage. We immediatley reached another level of energy in the room the second they started performing “Can You Do”. My memory from that first song is jumping up and down like mad, singing along. I felt like I was in my element just watching them.
One thing I should mention, I told the Banded team that I was going to bring stickers with me. So I brought four stickers with me with the intent to pass them along to the band. Right before The Aces came out on stage, I threw one onto the stage by the microphone. The girl in front of me was interested so she asked me if she could see the stickers so I showed it to her, told her about Banded and what we represent and she was fascinated by that. I felt proud just spreading the word and getting someone interested. So with that, probably 15 or 20 minutes into The Aces’ set, I threw the rest of the stickers onto the stage and I don’t know what happened in the end, but I hope Cristal or someone else in the band at least saw them.
The entire show was filled with so much energy, enthusiasm and excitement. From both the band and the crowd. Out of every song that was performed that night, I would say that the three songs that really had me pumped were “All Mean Nothing”, “Lost Angeles” and “I Can Break Your Heart Too”.
One stand out moment though? Cristal said that they made sure that their opening acts were all women. As a huge supporter of women in the music industry and always believing they deserve so much more, I gave a big round of applause and cheers. That night was certainly an amazing representation of women in the industry and reminding everyone that women can be badass musicians.
After every live show I go to, I’m always reminded of why live music has such an impact on others and why we love it so much. It wasn’t just The Aces who gave me that reminder, it was also Sawyer and The Beaches. I had never felt so amazed by two opening acts before that the day.
The entire show was so incredible and an amazing last show of 2021 for me. It only made me excited for what’s to come in terms of shows in 2022, excited to see The Aces again and to start a petition to get The Beaches to perform a headlining show in Houston.