Talented singer, songwriter and producer Blackbear returned for another tour since his first headlining tour in 2019. He ended his 15-date tour in North America at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, Calif., on Sept. 26.
Blackbear’s sound cannot be defined by any specific genre, as each song has a different tune. If I had to describe it, I would classify it as pop, rock, emo, alternative, and even sprinkling in some R and B and hip-hop.
His supporting acts featured Heart Attack Man and Waterparks for the Nothing Matters Tour. The concert highlighted multi-platinum tracks like “idfc” and “hot girl bummer.”
Blackbear also performed his recent singles featuring Machine Gun Kelly, “gfy,” and “the idea” from his forthcoming album “in loving memory.”
The opening acts did well, exciting the crowd before Blackbear entered the scene. These two bands consisted of noisy pop-punk, alternative, rock and electric sounds. Their music fit the concert’s vibe and complemented the rest of the show well. The artists seemed to be grateful to be on tour with Blackbear.
Before this concert in L.A., Blackbear had to cancel all shows the week leading up to his concert in Las Vegas, on Saturday, Sept. 24. This was due to some medical issues regarding his vocals.
He was placed on vocal rest by doctors. He shared the news via an Instagram story on Sept. 19, captioning, “In spite of the continuous medical effort, I’m extremely heartbroken to say that my vocal issues have not improved.
“I wholeheartedly apologize to everyone who worked so hard on this show and those who planned to attend.” Blackbear said. He clarified to his fans that refunds would be issued to them for the show and hoped that he would be able to sing in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Lucky for us, the Saturday show happened, and he could perform the rest of his tour.
Considering the trauma his vocals had probably experienced and that he had to be on vocal rest, Blackbear did a fantastic job in performing and singing.
His opening to the concert was something I had never experienced before. It started with flashing lights, guitar solos and a robot voice almost like Siri talking. The voice ended by saying, “nothing matters” before the guitars started, and Blackbear came out singing one of his well-known songs, “me and ur ghost” from the album “everything means nothing,” followed by “queen of broken hearts” from the same album.
Many of the songs played were his older songs from previous albums to which the entire crowd sang along. Blackbear played his song, “idfc” from his album “dead roses,” and songs from his EP “dead” were played twice. He played one right after the other because one was the original version, and the second was a newer version.
This song was one from his roots, and I think it was memorable for everyone to sing it along with him. During the show, he stated how happy he was to be back in LA to perform as LA is where his entire career began.
As someone who found him from one of his most popular songs, “idfc,” which has been streamed nearly 6,000,000 times and is still No. 4 on his Spotify most played, I found this moment during the concert very personal with his fans, and the small theater made it feel all the more intimate.
Blackbear also played more of his popular songs like “chateau” and “i miss the old you”, and even brought up three fans from the pit to sing on stage with him. He also played “dirty laundry.”
Although the concert showcased songs from his earlier albums, he did play a select few from his recent albums, like “back in rehab” from “in loving memory.” Blackbear mentioned during the show that the song had not been performed for anyone yet, so the L.A. fans were the first to hear it. “Poltergeist” from his newest album, and my personal favorite, was the last song that Blackbear performed.
I do wish he played more songs from his newest album because no one has heard those songs performed live yet, and I think it is one of his best albums. It was still fantastic to hear all the songs I had listened to in the past come to life in front of me with flashing lights of colors and excellent visual graphics submerging an entire theater of screaming fans who were singing and enjoying themselves and the songs.
Although his music is not for everyone, I think concert experiences are some of the best ways to spend time with people and to hear music and artists perform their songs and bring them to life.
