Awolnation
August 21, 2015
Grammy Museum- Los Angeles, CA
After releasing their third studio album Run, Awolnation did a private hometown show at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, CA. The show took place in the museum, in a room that has about 200 seats and a small stage, making the experience very intimate and once in a lifetime. Before the show began, lead singer, Aaron Bruno was interviewed for close to an hour regarding the newest album; he mentioned that before Awolnation, he was in several punk bands and before their hit song Sail (which has been streamed over 221 million times on Spotifty) they had a fan base that was more into the rock element so Run was for the older fans, and therefore, was a heavier album. He gave fans an insight on how much he enjoyed recording the album, recording several songs with the very guitar that he first learned to play on, and how he never really wanted to be a singer. As the interview was nearing an end, fans were given the opportunity to ask their burning questions which ranged from when a new album is coming out, to which Bruno responded by jokingly saying that Run took too much out of him so that was the last album, to a child asking how it was recording his favorite song, Knights of Shame which is 14:58 minutes long.
After an entertaining, funny and informative interview, fans were finally ready to hear some Awolnation! The rest of the band walked out on stage and the lights dimmed while Kenny Carkeet on keyboards played the synthesizer for the title track, Run. While listening to this song on the record, it seems rather mellow, but live these guys put on a show. Strobe lights went flashing as Bruno and Zach Irons on guitar jumped around the small stage. Following was the first single of the album Hollow Moon.
By their third song Windows, Awolnation was already half way done with their set. The electronic element made it impossible for the audience to continue sitting in their seats and slowly every member of the audience was up and dancing by the end of the song. The dancing continued with an old favorite Kill Your Heroes and was followed by I Am which had peaked at #4 on the US Alt Charts. Without question, their final song of the night was Sail which has been certified 6x platinum and has sold over 5.5 million copies in the US alone. You know when there’s a popular song that is constantly played on the radio and at first you love it and then after a while it gets old and annoying? Sail is not like that in anyway. It is a timeless hit that you could listen to all day everyday and it will still sound as good as when you first heard it. The guys changed it up at the end doing a more rocking outro that added a really enjoyable twist to an amazing song and set.
The night was full of laughs, dancing and singing as Awolnation performed for an excited crowd. Fans who were able to buy presale tickets were gifted a Vinyl copy of their latest album and after the show, everyone was able to enjoy what the Grammy Museum has to offer. Should Awolnation be in your town, there is not question that you MUST buy a ticket and go see them. Should you be in Los Angeles, go check out the Grammy Museum as they have new exhibits all the time and something cool for every music lover.
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
