This week’s playlist is going to be a little different…and not a playlist. Sorry not sorry, folks! A local Donwtown Asheville music venue named the Orange Peel hosted AWOLNATION last Saturday night and my friend Deanna and I were lucky enough to get tickets! Being 5’4″, I didn’t have the best vantage point for watching the show, but the music from both openers and AWOLNATION themselves was great!

The Openers

Irontom, the first opening band, was alternative rock, but with a little bit of a twist. The lead singer has some killer disco-esque dance moves! His high energy and stage rocking enthusiasm helped set the mood for the concert. Charlie Sheen even cameo-ed in their music video for The Minista! 

The second opening band was Finish Ticket, out of California. While the first few songs felt like I was being serenaded by screaming headbangers, the show instantly took off with a  cover of When You Were Young by The Killers. Total game changer! The energy in the room picked back up after that hit and kept rising until the final song in the set – Finish Ticket’s hit song Colors.

The Main Act

After a half hour of technical difficulties, AWOLNATION took the stage. With a crazy light show and a few Top 40 hits in their pockets, the crowd went wild the entire time. Even when the mic started undulating in the second song of their first set, the band kept their cool and rocked the crazy pitch changes. They even took a break in between sets to have a laugh about it, saying they’ve “never taken [themselves] too seriously” so mistakes like that aren’t a big deal. When a band is having a blast performing, the crowd has even more fun.

Have you been to any concerts recently? Let me know in the comment section below!

xo Bailey