Halsey + Young Rising Sons Play Rough Trade

A line of teens, and 20-somethings alike, formed throughout the storefront of Rough Trade, creating a sea of leather and denim jackets, distressed jeans, and platform shoes. The American You(th) tour, co-headlined by Halsey and Young Rising Sons, came through Brooklyn on April 1st, but none of them were fooling around with their performances because it was a kick ass show!

The Mosers opened the night with a sick punk-rock set. Their song “We Are All Friends” is super catchy and once singer Mike Pellegrino told the crowd he “was up at the library studying all night so I need help singing this one,” the crowd learned the words and everyone in the room felt like friends.

The Mosers

“Me and you are on the same playing field,” Olivver the Kid says to the audience in the middle of his set. “If anyone thinks they’re too cool, they’re not.” It’s hard to feel like you’re on the same playing field as Olivver the Kid when he has hair the color of Eminem’s, a denim jacket that’s studded and has “Pure Trash” lettering on the back, and the stage presence of someone who’s played multiple arena shows. His pop/R&B sound combines the soul of R&B but also the catchy choruses of a pop tune.

Olivver The Kid

I first saw Young Rising Sons back in August of 2013 when they played on a pop-punk bill at the Studio at Webster Hall with Paradise Fears and Fourth & Coast. I really liked YRS’s vibe and have been following them ever since. At this show, they seemed more at home with the bands they were playing with and a lot more comfortable on stage and with themselves as a band.

Young Rising Sons

In between swigs of Jack Daniels’, they played songs off their self titled EP including “King of the World,” “Turnin,’” and, their hit single, “High.” “High” is an indie-pop dance anthem that, when the chorus hits, makes you feel like you’re jumping in slow motion on a trampoline. That’s the best kind of high there is!

Young Rising Sons

Goosebumps never left my body throughout the entirety of Halsey’s set that night. I had never seen her live before, or really listened to her music, and boy was I missing out! Her electric sex-rock sound puts you in a trance where you just begin to move your body involuntarily to the undulating beat of her songs.

Halsey

“This song is about a generation that’s been raised on diversity. This song is about a generation that does not give a fuck,” Halsey says about her song “New Americana.” Halsey’s songs carry the theme of American youth in them, describing how today’s generation copes with society and deals with everyday issues. Some of my favorites of the night included “Empty Gold,” “Colors,” “Hurricane,” “Hold Me Down,” and, of course, “Ghost” (a song she actually wrote with YRS’s Dylan Scott). Her passionate vocals and beautifully written, metaphorical lyrics touched me and I never want her songs to not be playing around me ever again.