Photos by Makenna Magdaleno-Mague and review by Donna Ghassemi // Full Galleries of each artist can be found on the Music tab
Energy.
Of all the words I could use to describe the performances I saw at Sacramento’s City of Trees Music Festival, I would have to say that “energy” is the best to use. From Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness to Weezer, all the artists put on such amazing sets. It had been my first time seeing some of the bands, but I do have to say that they left great impressions.
The band put on quite a performance, getting the crowd pumped and dancing even with harsh sun beaming down. The heat did not stop them from nodding along and it certainly did not stop the band from dancing.
Having had to drive all the way up from South Orange County, it was nice to see another group of Southern Californians present at the festival. The SoCal residents being Weathers, an indie rock band hailing from Los Angeles. The four piece band released their single, “Happy Pills”, in early June of 2016 and it reached 22nd on the alternative songs music charts.
Not only did the band as a whole possess great energy and excitement, but the attire of their lead singer, Cameron Boyer, was very aesthetically pleasing. His outfit gave off a “cool, British vampire/rockstar” vibe, with a long plaid coat and circular sunglasses. He moved around gracefully and in tune with the music, twirling the mic in his hand, the ends of his coat flapping around behind him creating some great picture perfect moments.
I had previously heard of Andrew McMahon as he had been on tour with Panic! At the Disco and Weezer this summer but I had never actually listened to his music much. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness is the solo project of Andrew McMahon, the former vocalist, pianist, and main songwriter of the bands Jack’s Mannequin and Something Corporate.
The audience sang and danced along to his songs, and even played with a rainbow parachute that one might find in a kindergarten classroom. “I want you to remember what it is like to be a child again, to be free,” McMahon said as they brought out the colorful parachute.
Within the first couple songs of the set, the 34 year old musician had already jumped down from the stage and into the photo pit to interact with the fans. He ran all over the place, jumping up to graze the hands of the festival goers and eventually crawled back up onto the stage.
He did not stand still for a minute of his set, constantly moving from stage left to right and even standing on his piano. At the end of his set, he began jumping on the piano and the sounds of the crashing keys echoed throughout the festival grounds.
Up next was Phantogram, an American music duo from New York consisting of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel. With their electronic and dream pop vibes, people everywhere could be found dancing along to the beat. Having just released an album in October, it was awesome to hear new songs, and songs never heard before performed with such an energetic crowd.
With their 2nd album “Voices” hitting number 3 on both the US alternative and US rock charts, their new album “Three” is sure to make it high on the charts. Sarah was dressed in all black, her dyed blonde hair and blue sunglasses pulling together an awesome outfit. She sang her heart out and the crowd sang back, the fan favorite being a new song, “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore.” The set was a nice warm-up for the band that was to come next.
With the anticipation rising and the weather growing hotter, people became more and more anxious. The solution to all that pent up energy was, of course, British rock band The Struts.
Personally, I had never heard of them before, but I was so impressed by their performance that I made to sure to make note of their name to look up later. Of the bands I saw, Panic! At the Disco and The Struts tied first for “Most Lively Set” in my book. Lead singer Luke Spiller wow’d the crowd with his crazy dance moves and powerful voice.
During the set, the audience was told to sit down (even those standing on the side) and wait. The music dulled and Spiller told them to wait for the cue to jump up. Time passed slowly as everyone waited in anticipation for the cue.
“AND JUMP!” Spiller shouted into his mic and the crowd jumped, danced, and clapped their way to the end of the set.
Weezer will always be one of my favorite bands to see live. In fact, I’d say they are one of the select few bands that might even be better live than in studio.
The stage lights for their set were amazing, reds and purples illuminated the members and they even had choreographed moments in which they almost posed for the picture by all standing next to each other.
The crowd sang along to their favorite Weezer songs, from My Name is Jonas to Beverly Hills. During My Name is Jonas, one of the people pressed against the barricade began to freak out as he hadn’t known that Weezer was the band that sang the song. Further out in the audience, people outside of the main standing area moved along passionately and some presented their very impressive air guitars.
I had always seen Weezer as one of those more nostalgic bands, the ones you grew up hearing in your favorite cousin’s car as they drove you home from school. You would bob your head along to the drums in Beverly Hills and sing along to the words coming out of their stereo. It’s kind of amazing how concerts can transport us from that one afternoon in our cousin’s (or whoever’s) car to standing in a crowd of likeminded people screaming the words back at the band.
And alas, after a long hot day of set after set after set the crowd began cheering for Panic! At the Disco. It’s amazing how I can barely get out of bed in the morning, but vocalist Brendon Urie has the energy to dance the way he does every night on stage.
He jumped from side to side, onto speakers and across the stage. Guitarist Kenneth Harris and bassist Dallon Weekes also did their fair share of moving, constantly switching sides to give all members of the crowd a view of their very talented faces. Speaking of talent, no one can deny that Panic’s cover of Bohemian Rhapsody is anything but just as good as the original. Brendon Urie’s ever-so-powerful voice swayed the crowd, some sang along while others just stood there listening, transfixed by the beauty of the song.
As the night went along and the set began inching towards its end, Urie decided to blatantly tell the crowd that they were just gonna keep playing instead of faking going off stage and coming back for the encore. Which then lead them to the one song that everyone knows: I Write Sins Not Tragedies (a.k.a the one song about the door). And let’s be real, it’d be quite the tragedy if they didn’t play that song. Just like Weezer reminds everyone of those nostalgic afternoon car rides, Sins reminds some of us of those nostalgic middle school days. The days when we would come home from school and search for the song on our iPod nano and listen to it whilst doing whatever homework the teacher had assigned that day.
And after a few more songs, the long awaited set ended with Victorious, a song off their newest album Death of a Bachelor.
Overall, City of Trees was a day filled with good music and good times. It’s held in Sacramento every year so be sure to check it out next year! A select few even get a free tree as they leave the festival. Below is a recap video of the festival, and full galleries of each artist can be found here!