The Aces at The Loft: Concert Review
The Aces with morgxn
The Loft @ UCSD
Wednesday, March 7
It's been quite some time since I've done a live music review and with my blog back up and running, I figured it was time to restart. Concerts are some of my favorite places to be. In fact, I have five more in the next two months. So expect more posts like these.
I used to do a lot of concert and albums reviews from my time back on my college newspaper and on the Odyssey website, so if you weren't around for any of those, here's a link to check out some of my other reviews, including Zella Day and Tom Odell: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/user/@rikopratt
But let's get back on track.
So, Wednesday night I was able to attend a wonderful concert at one of the local universities, UCSD. You may have heard of it. There is a small room, I want to say it's a bar or cafe, but I'm not quite sure. It's called The Loft and some nights it's converted into an intimate concert venue. Very intimate. I was so close I could basically touch them, but that would be strange. Think of the venue like The Irenic in North Park, if you've ever been there. That's how close I was.
As per most concerts, I arrived hours early because I'm completely bananas and have to be in the front at every show. It's also helpful if you're really excited for the artists performing, which I was. I've known both the opener and the headliners for a while now.
I discovered The Aces back when they only had one song, their signature "Stuck." I can't remember the exact site, but it was some sort of music blog listing cool new artists, much like some of the articles I've done the past two years.
I was instantly hooked by the retro 80's inspired sound they harnessed. Something between MUNA or The 1975. I immediately subscribed to The Aces and was notified for every release after, each being even more amazing than the last.
I found out about the opener, morgxn (pronounced Morgan) by a YouTube ad. You know how before a video, YouTube sometimes plays a music video as the ad and sometimes that music video is better than the one you are currently trying to watch?
Well, that's what happened with him. I believe it was the visualizer for his song "xx" that captivated me and then I went back, found the rest of his stuff and loved it. His sound being much darker with some alternative pop influence.
So, you could say I was pretty into both artists.
By getting to the venue early, I was actually able to meet two of the band members from The Aces. Guitarist Katie Henderson and lead singer Cristal Ramirez. I was able to snag photos with them and you can check those out in the gallery at the end of the article.
After more time waiting and some walking around the campus to kill time, I found myself back at the entrance and the line eventually formed behind me. Shortly after, we were inside and I was front and center, my favorite spot.
Not long after, morgxn took the stage. Making sure he felt welcome and appreciated, we cheered him on. He started his performance with his debut hit "love you with the lights on," a personal fave.
His performance was electric and his vocals were fantastic. A lot of his songs require some very high vocals, so it was awesome to see him pull it off flawlessly. He played a few new songs as well, like "translucent" which was just made available today.
It was fun to watch him jump around with so much energy because it got us more excited and made the experience all the more pleasurable. He even jumped into the crowd at some point. He was performing his song "bruised" at the time and he made a point to single out the lyrics "you're a work of art" while telling us all that we were works of art and that there is no need to change for anybody.
So yeah, a concert and a pep talk.
He finished with his signature song "home" which most of the crowd seemed to know and sang along to. Morgxn proved a perfect opener to get everyone pumped up and ready for what was next.
Not long after, we were graced with the main event, The Aces. The crowd going absolute bonkers while the girls each took their spots on stage, before going into "Touch," the opening number.
The girls each brought a lot of energy while playing their respective instruments. I finally got to see the two members that I hadn't met, in action. Mckenna Petty slayed on the bass, while Alisa Ramirez, Cristal's sister, brought her everything on the drums.
The Aces stuck mostly to their already released music, with their debut album being released very soon. The only new song they played was "Last One" which already sounds amazing and got us all super hyped for the album.
As for the concert, I always like to pick a favorite song live. My all-time favorite song from The Aces is "Baby Who" which they did perform and it was gorgeous, but I think the best performance of the night was their song "Physical." It's got a great sing-along chorus and it's just a lot of fun to dance to.
Other standouts of the night were "Fake Nice" and "Volcanic Love" which are both set to appear on the new album.
The Aces closed with their first hit "Stuck" and there wasn't a single person that didn't know all the words.
The best part of the night was definitely the crowd. They had been extremely receptive and that kind of community is why I love concerts so much. It was a joy singing every line of every song with them.
Another takeaway was the vocal delivery of both artists. I mean, they sounded just like their studio versions and that's not easy to accomplish. That means we're dealing with real artists who make real music and can perform said music very well.
After the concert, both artists stayed after to do pictures and signings. I was able to get each of The Aces to sign my poster and I got a pic with all of them together, as you will see in the gallery. I was also able to get a photo with morgxn too and sign in his "what is vital" journal. He brought it to the venue so that everyone can write a little message explaining something that is vital to their life. It was a really great idea and I made sure to let him know about my writing.
The Aces promised me personally that they would come back to San Diego. They even remembered my name from meeting them before the show. It was extremely special and it made me feel really great about this wild concert life that I partake in. Moments like those are what make it all worth it and inspire me to keep seeing shows.
Not only were they great people, but I recommend you check out the music from both The Aces and morgxn. The Aces' debut album 'When My Heart Felt Volcanic' will be out on April 6 and morgxn's album 'vital' will be out later this year. Until then, you can check out their music on all platforms including Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, etc.
And one last thing, I've updated the Playlist of the Week section of my blog. I even featured some music from The Aces and morgxn, so go check it out!