October 9, 2024

Lovelytheband played at The Slowdown for the second time on Wednesday, October 9th. The “here’s your flowers tour” with Mod Sun came five years after their first stop in Omaha in 2019. I’ve been dying for them to come back, so I took a co-headlined tour, even though I would have much preferred a headline tour. Back in 2019, prior to the show, my dad and younger sister, Tia, stopped by The Blatt in downtown Omaha for a bite to eat. Much to our surprise, a few minutes after being seated, lovelytheband showed up and were seated right next to us! Internally, I was freaking out. Somehow I managed to calmly say hi and let them know I looked forward to their show that evening. They were extremely kind, but my family didn’t want to bother their pre-show dinner, so we left them alone to eat after providing a recommendation on what to order. When we were ready to head to the venue, my dad secretly flagged down the waiter and asked to pay for their meal without them knowing. I can’t image how hard it is to be out on tour and how financially stressful it must have been to be a small band on their first headline tour after the release of their debut album one year prior. It was our way to show our appreciation for them and to support them on their journey, not expecting anything in return. Much to our surprise, our small gesture led to a shoutout to the dad and his two daughters they met at dinner during their set. The experience was truly unforgettable.

This Wednesday night show was a little different, with my family rushing to get there after long days at work. We skated in right before lovelytheband’s set, unfortunately missing both openers. The Slowdown is a small venue in Omaha, holding approximately 750 people at full capacity. The main stage area is set up well, with a slightly slanted floor allowing for optimal viewing even from the back (at least this is what it feels like!). Much to my surprise, the crowd did not seem as large as it had been the first time lovely came to town. However, this provided us with lots of room to dance and jump around to all of their catchy music. Thankfully, the band deviated from their prior setlists and played a setlist containing more of their greatest hits, like these are my friends, make you feel pretty, maybe, i’m afraid, and broken. With their greatest hits, they played several fantastic songs off their newly released self-titled album, like nice to know you, sail away, and day run out.

The setup of their stage is simple, yet effective. They had lights that changed colors and patterns with the songs, and their iconic neon red lips (which were featured on stage at their 2019 concert as well) high above them. The 13 song setlist was perfectly curated, but far too short in my opinion. It would have been ideal to have them be the only headliner and able to play longer. However, the whole setlist I sang my heart out and danced along to their music. Their sound is perfection live. Although this show still didn’t top their 2019 show—which is definitely in my top 10—it was worth the ticket price!

The merch left much to be desired. None of it seemed tour specific, or featured the name of the band, which is the whole point of tour merch in my opinion. None of the clothing items had the tour dates listed, which is my favorite thing about tour merch. That said, I did snag a beautiful vinyl with the band’s new album for not a terrible price.

After lovelytheband, Mod Sun performed about an equal set time. Although going into the night I knew very little about Mod Sun and his music, other than the fact he was previously engaged to Avril Lavigne, I enjoyed his set as well. Mod Sun is high energy, bouncing all over the place throughout his whole set. Unlike lovelytheband, who are more mellow, Mod Sun is anything but. He went back and forth, jumping across the stage, and constantly looked for crowd engagement with sing alongs, coordinated arm movements, and fun stories. His music wasn’t too bad either! I honestly didn’t realize just how many songs he had together with his pal, Machine Gun Kelly, who I love as well.

The opener, No Love for the Middle Child, played in Mod Sun’s band throughout his set. He played a large cello, the guitar, and provided some background vocals. Turns out No Love is a producer as well, so this guy is extremely talented. I loved the variety in Mod Sun’s band, which also featured a lovely female bass player, which you don’t see all that often in the alt world. To finish up his set, Mod Sun pulled up Mitchy Collins from lovelytheband and No Love for the Middle Child to play their new, unreleased song “The Shakes.” Mod Sun plays the harmonica in this song (which is honestly growing on me after this song, and COIN’s song Strawberry Jam), which provided tons of entertainment value. The song was catchy and full of excitement. I can’t wait for its release!

OVERALL RATINGS

Venue: 8/10

Setlist: 8/10

Sound Quality: 7/10

Merch: 6/10

Vibes: 9/10