By Cami Yee
The beginning of September was full of memorable concerts around the Bay Area. I personally was lucky enough to attend 2 concerts, Gracie Abrams and Hoizer. I had a blast at both concerts, enjoying the lively atmosphere while singing along to the most iconic songs. Below are my reviews of both Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us Tour and Hoizer’s Unreal Unearth Tour.
Gracie Abrams’ The Secrets of Us Tour
Date: September 8, 2024
Venue: UC Berkeley Greek Theatre. I really loved this venue as it was really open and spacious. There wasn’t assigned seating because the tickets were general admission but my best friend Reiko and I were able to find seats that were really close to the stage.
Ticket Price: $55 each. I thought that these tickets were fairly priced, especially for a rising pop star such as Gracie Abrams. I did have to register for presale and anxiously wait to try and get tickets in May, though 4 months early. I’m glad that I did though, because after they sold out, the average resale ticket was going for more than $200.
Entry/Exit and Traffic: We got there around 15 minutes before Gracie came on. Originally, I had read from Reddit that the opener goes on at 8, but ended up being wrong. There was no line to get in and we walked through the metal detectors and got in easily. Leaving was also extremely easy. Reiko’s dad had arrived around 15 minutes before the concert ended and found some parking on a street which was a 10 minute walk away from the venue. Overall, I had an excellent experience with the entry/exit and traffic!
View: Although we arrived barely before the set began, we were able to find some room near the bottom of the concrete bleachers. At times, it was a little distracting because we were right near the exit, so lots of people moved back and forth to the restroom and merch tent, but that also let us leave quickly. For some reason, it was really easy to access the space near the stage, so when she walked over to our side, I was able to run down the pathway to get really close to her.
Setlist and Performance: The setlist was amazing. I really enjoyed her album so I was so excited to sing it out loud with thousands of people. Her voice sounded so good live, it sounded better than the studio recordings in my opinion because of the rawness of her voice. My only regard was that I wish the setlist was longer.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere was absolutely astonishing. I felt that I was at the Eras Tour again because of the good vibes around the concert. There were so many girls who were all so sweet and considerate. I took a cute photo of two girls and they were ecstatic, insisting that they would love to take a photo of Reiko and I (which turned out really good!). Because this was my first concert without my parents around, the environment was nurturing and safe which allowed me to enjoy my experience without having lots of anxiety about everything.
Merch: The merch was definitely expensive and not the greatest in my opinion. I think they could’ve done a lot more with the theme and especially with the vibe surrounding Gracie and her fans. A hoodie was $85 and a shirt was $45, so I didn’t end up buying anything!
Hoizer’s Unreal Unearth Tour
Date: September 10, 2024
Venue: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View. I think that the venue itself was really nice but definitely overcrowded since it was a sold out show, especially because we were on the lawn.
Ticket Price: $50 each resale. We got lawn tickets and bought them off of VividSeats a week before the concert because we weren’t able to get tickets when they originally went on sale. Although, I definitely regret not paying $30 more for actual seats.
Entry/Exit and Traffic: The traffic was absolutely atrocious. I play soccer at Shoreline Athletic Fields three times a week, so although I knew the route, I was extremely surprised when the line to exit from the 101 was almost a mile long. My friends, Jocelyn Hwang and Thamra, had been dropped off at around 4:30 by Thamra and Heshma’s parents, however, in 2 hours, the traffic multiplied tenfold, leading us to wait nearly 30 minutes in traffic only to walk about a mile to the venue to make it on time. Exiting was also very difficult. Since there was such a tremendous amount of people, it was hard to get out of the venue and to the car. We ended up walking 20 minutes to Costco to be picked up.
View: I was definitely disappointed in the view. As a result of my lack of height, for most of the concert, I was unable to see the stage. However, this was supplemented by the large plasma screens that Shoreline had put up to display the action on stage which ended up being really nice. Although my friends had arrived at 4:30, nearly five hours before the concert started, and snagged seats in the middle and close to the front of the lawn, as soon as people began to stand up, it was over for my 5’2” self. Going back to the tickets, I definitely would have paid an extra $30 for a concert seat because I think I would’ve been able to see better. My feet were in so much pain afterwards too.
Setlist: Full of iconic music and funk, Hoizer’s setlist hit it out of the park. With an entourage of talented musicians and singers on stage with him, I was truly able to feel every emotion the song intended to convey to the audience. I really enjoyed how he ended with “Take Me to Church,” arguably his best song to date, but I would’ve liked the encore to be shorter (it was about 20 minutes). I really enjoyed how he mixed his new and old songs together, allowing the audience to reminisce one minute and sing their hearts out to a #1 radio hit another.
Atmosphere: Overall, I think that the atmosphere of the concert was pretty good. Even though I wasn’t able to see half the time, the music was really powerful and everyone around me was having a great time. I did not like how many people were on the lawn though. I think there were about 6,000 people on the lawn itself which made for a jam packed atmosphere that gave me a little bit of anxiety because I had to maneuver around picnic blankets and feet to get a churro. The atmosphere during the concert was good except for the girls screeching right next to us. It was definitely a little difficult to focus on Hoizer while they were emulating their inner banshees, however, I was, luckily, able to tune them out to enjoy the show. Not a lot of people were singing, but it was in a good way. I feel like there is definitely a need for balance in a concert, the extra singing contributes to the vibe but too much doesn’t allow you to hear the artist. This was a mix of both. I felt an awesome vibe towards the music, but I was still able to enjoy the pure voice of Hoizer and his bandmates.
Merch: Surprisingly not bad at all. I really loved the designs that he had available, I feel like they definitely captured the essence of Hoizer as a musician and that it was affordable. There were items that ranged from $10-$20 which were perfect for someone looking for a small trinket to commemorate the concert with. The shirts were $45 but they had designs that specifically correlated with Mountain View which provided concert goers with a perfect piece to remember the night. I ended up getting a black shirt which I really loved!
Overall, both concerts were very memorable and had their pros and cons. Two concerts on school nights within two days of each other was not a smart idea (my sleep suffered significantly as a result of my actions), but I had an immense amount of fun singing my heart out to lyrics with some of my best friends. I definitely recommend going to either of these artists and concerts in general!