Live Show: The Growth of The FML Tour.
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Touring and performing live for crowds is a huge step in any artist’s career. As much as some may love for each set to be perfect and consistent - they usually are not. After watching a TikTok live from Braden Bales - where he mentioned how the beginning and end of a tour can be vastly different - I decided to try to witness this experience with his The FML Tour.
The FML Tour consisted of two sets, one from Braden Bales and one from Ezra, as well as a VIP experience that highlighted their duo group, Afterthought.
The tour kicked off on February 5th at Constellation Room in Santa Ana, California. Arriving early, I was able to attend the first ever Afterthought set. Although the duo showed strong vocal performances, by no means was the set “perfect.” Stumbling on lyrics and timing for alternating turns between main and harmonizing melodies here and there, Afterthought still held a solid presence and sounded great when everything came together. Despite the “errors,” it was refreshing to see. Similar to a band in its rookie stage, you could feel the potential for growth just waiting to materialize.
Moving into the main portion of the show, we witness Ezra’s set, beginning with a monologue introduction of how great figures like Amelia Earhart, Muhammad Ali, and Lightning McQueen coalesce to bring the great emo boy on stage in front of us. Jumping right into the Y2K-reminiscent song, MIDDLE GROUND, Ezra got the crowd bumping their heads.
Not only was the Santa Ana show the start of the tour, it was the release night of Ezra’s debut album, spoke too soon. To ring in the release, Ezra livestreamed his entire set on TikTok, to allow those unable to attend the show to experience the moment with him. The energy held up in the stream, as people flooded the chat with love since they also got to see the new songs performed live for the first time.
A key moment for myself from Ezra’s Santa Ana set was when he performed gone at 20 something - a song written in remembrance of a friend who tragically passed away from an overdose. This song was the one I looked most forward to hearing live for the first time. I was able to hear the song in its early demo stage when Ezra played it on a livestream one time. gone at 20 something brought me to tears, reminding me of my brother who passed away. Immediately, I knew this was a song that needed to be out there to comfort others who have also gone through the grief of losing a loved one. An emotional performance that was hard to start, Ezra was able to find the strength and resolve to push through. Although it contrasts the upbeat energy from other songs in his set, this moment was pivotal to me. Not only did Ezra take a risk at showing an extremely vulnerable side of himself, he was able to reel in the crowd, as you could see people who came to the show together holding each other close. To have been able to move a crowd in such a way is a gift, and beautifully showcased the power music has to heal and capture our humanity.
Braden Bales’ set started strong as he garnered laughter and cheers from the crowd when he dropped it low, fell on stage, and recovered with a handstand to reveal a “welcome” sign attached to his ankles.
Bales’ set held a mix of comedic and sentimental moments. The song that held down the comedic end of the spectrum for this show was HINGE. During this song, Bales opened the floor for a few members of the crowd to recall some of their own unfortunate romantic situations with a T-Pain-like autotune preset. The crowd roared in cheers as they got to hear some impromptu bars about how someone cheated on the crowd member with someone in a wheelchair, like how Braden danced on his drummer, Nick Lewert. Equally so, the crowd squealed in utter shock to hear that another crowd member’s boyfriend cheated on her with a venue worker.
On the sentimental side of the spectrum, SKINCELLS showed a sweet, tender moment between the artist and crowd. Singing back the line “I’m still thinking ‘bout you,” Bales took off one of his in-ear monitors with a smile to fully experience the crowd’s melody - the first of many to come.
Two days after the Santa Ana show, Ezra and Braden were scheduled to perform in San Francisco at Brick + Mortar.
Opening this show was Juju B. Goode. Including a cover of Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry, Goode held down the crowd with a groovy, yet nostalgic performance.
Starting another show off with even more vibrant energy, Ezra had the San Francisco crowd bouncing along to his set. The crowd was really feeling the vibes that night, so much to the point where Ezra took a risk and pointed his mic to the crowd and you heard them sing back “hope it’s just an intermission.” Notably smaller than in Santa Ana, yet their energy easily exceeded the previous show by miles.
Following up the high energy, Braden Bales kept the crowd going with a strong introduction leading into his title track, FML. There were a couple of slight technical difficulties afterwards. However, the tour team worked through them quickly, still keeping the audience engaged. A professional job well done, because they locked back in and continued on smoothly with their set - driving it home with even more heart and soul.
In addition to the songs played during the VIP experience, Afterthought performed two songs during Bales’ set. After one show, the duo was already showing improvements. Still, a couple of minor hiccups, but I paid no mind to it. Ezra and Braden Bales trading off harmonies showed how seasoned they are as individual artists. Seeing them unify even more through Afterthought was magical.
San Francisco was a warm show that made the room feel bigger than it was. The size of the crowd did not have any effect on the energy the fans brought - some of them returning from previous shows such as Emo Nite and the Me Myself and You tour. Surprisingly though, it was interesting to hear how some of the fans in attendance came because of Afterthought. The most notable observation from the Santa Ana show to now was how the band started to mesh well on stage together. You could see Bales and Ezra get more comfortable in their own skin, which was a driving factor for the cohesiveness. Accompanying Bales and Ezra are Jake Goldman (guitarist) and Nick Lewert (drummer), who had to skillfully read each vocalist’s every move to keep progressing even as an occasional in-ear monitor pack died mid-song. Watching all of them read each others’ energies was extraordinary and led them to feed more soul into their performance together.
Fast forward to a bit more than halfway through the tour, I had the pleasure of attending the sold out New York stop at Mercury Lounge, alongside magSCENE founder, Jesse. Gearing up for this show, the team had released four out of, what would end up being, six mockumentary episodes. Written and recorded throughout the drives in-between, these episodes hilariously covered moments on tour while continuing the plot point of Goldman being Bales’ therapist in previous rollout content.
The hometown show for Ezra and his second appearance at this venue, since opening for poptropicaslutz!’ show in 2021. The queue for the show was long, but the excitement for the show only continued to grow as fans entered the building. Throughout the entirety of Ezra’s set, not a single moment of silence could be heard. People were jumping and singing along with some of the best energy - something I haven’t seen at a show in a while. Ezra had lit a fire on the hearts of the crowd. All the way to the final moments of his set, the crowd did not let up and held a solid mosh-pit during sober cigarettes - Ezra's very first one out of, hopefully, many.
Braden Bales’ set kept that energy and motion moving as well. This show marked his 60th day of sobriety - a huge accomplishment that the crowd made sure didn’t fly by without celebration.
During the Afterthought portion of Bales’ set, Ezra’s in-ear monitors were experiencing technical difficulties, but swiftly Bales came up with a solution to bring the duo out into the pit, to where his bandmate could get a better measure of the sound. The crowd formed a circle around them and eventually began to pull out their phones to shine a light on the duo - making the intimate performance an even sweeter moment. Ending their collaborative portion of Bales’ set with glass house, the crowd opened the pit again. Taking this moment to the highest level possible, Ezra took his chance to jump into the pit. The crowd kept him up so he could surf. Experiencing that moment in the pit was electrifying, as if being given a second breath of life after getting struck by lighting. Even as glass house ended, the crowd craved more and more, continuing to bounce and mosh as Bales ended his set with Chronically Cautious.
The New York stop of the tour was one for the books. Since they had the late show slot, they had to work quickly to get set up and roll with the punches that came their way. Additionally, they did not have as much of a chance to meet fans post-show, as the VIP experience took place afterwards. Ensuring everyone could have a moment for themselves, the artists took time to meet each individual fan in line prior to the show.
After witnessing the start of the tour, the New York show cemented a lot of details for me. To start, I saw how well the tour team’s dynamic developed. It wasn’t just the performing members that were in-sync with each other. From the merch guy, Aamir, to their videographer, Dark Sight, and their tour manager, Zach, - the whole crew moved together as a unit and knew how to move with incredible speed. Another detail that was cemented for myself was how much Ezra and Bales’ communities have grown since I last saw them perform in New York. Fans travelled across the country, not just to see them perform, but to meet up and enjoy the moment with fellow companions made through their Discord servers. Music brought people together and filled the Mercury Lounge with nothing but love that night, and it was truly
an honor to be a part of that.
All good things come to an end. For The FML Tour, that moment was their final show in Los Angeles. I had the opportunity to cover this show. Whilst queuing, a wave of conflicting emotions took over me. The usual nerves before shooting any show came up, but they were different. I’m usually nervous about missing “the” shot, but I sat there and told myself that I knew this setlist like the back of my hand. This would be the fourth show I’ve seen on this tour - there’s no way to miss the shot. A pang hit in my heart and a strange, bittersweet sadness bled into the mix. It wasn’t until I walked through the doors that I realized I was nervous about the inability to take in this moment again. As the lights dimmed, I took a breath and went headfirst into it all.
Opening the Los Angeles show, Jake Cornell held a solid and cozy performance, reeling in his crowd with a cover of The Killers’ Mr. Brightside.
Maneuvering through the crowd to get the shots kept me alive in this show. I’m usually too shy to get in people’s way, but moving through and seeing people sing along and dance let me candidly feel the various energies in the room. Singing alongside strangers and laughing when we would make small, funny comments to ourselves enhanced the moment.
In all honesty, it kind of feels like I blacked out during this show. I remember every moment, but it all happened so fast and was gone in an instant. Compared to the first show of the tour in Santa Ana, the Los Angeles show felt less calculated for me. I just went balls deep and had fun with it. No technical difficulties. The crowd roared. Mosh-pits were present. Braden Bales brought out Ionas Finser, Myra Choo, and Dana Zulpykhar for the full version of SKINCELLS - an ethereal moment, unlike the previous times it was performed. Jesse crowd surfed during glass house. Fans were singing word-for-word to the unreleased Afterthought songs. Everything was right in the world for that sliver of time in The Moroccan Lounge.
To go back to the question at hand for this article: “How different is the start of a tour to the end of a tour?” For this tour, the answer is vastly different. Each stop of the tour had their own personal moments that could never be replayed at a different show. Each crowd is filled with different people, some returning faces too. Those touring learn to work more efficiently as a team with each day that passes - the performing members learning or relearning to be comfortable in their own skin on stage. This tour was a beautiful journey that captured the impeccable work ethic and humanity of these creatives, their resolve to stay composed and push through high-stress situations, all while still being able to offer the best experience for their supporters.
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