Greyson Chance Brings The Trophies World Tour To DC
Date: July 16th, 2021
Venue: Union Stage
Washington, DC
What’s up everyone, it’s Derek here! I’m back again with another night of music in Washington, DC. I was super excited when I first learned that this show was happening because I’ve been a fan of Greyson Chance for years. By years, I mean since the beginning. I remember seeing him perform his debut single “Waiting Outside The Lines” on Ellen in 2010. This came after he went viral earlier that year with a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi.” Ever since that performance, I have always made an effort to stay up to date on his music. In 2019, he released what would become my favorite album to date and one that really solidified his music career with ‘Portraits.’ It was also in 2019 that I had the chance to see him live for the first time. This was at a sold-out show in Orlando, Florida on Halloween night and well… it was an amazing experience. Following the success of ‘Portraits’ and touring to sold-out shows, COVID-19 hit and brought everything to a halt. During this time, Greyson seized the opportunity to dive deeper into himself and his music and the result was ‘Trophies,’ an LP that continues to highlight the strong songwriting and vocal abilities of Chance. Released on June 25th of this year, it was only fitting to celebrate with a tour!
With only a couple stops in the US for 2021, Washington, DC was one of the lucky places to be graced (pun intended) by his music. Don’t worry though, there are plenty of US shows coming in 2022; more details on that later though. On Friday night, myself and many other Greyson Chance fans gathered at Union Stage. After waiting in the line to get in, a strange thing that the pandemic made me miss, the room began to fill up as 8:30 quickly approached and the show was almost ready to begin.
The sounds of James Blake’s “Are You Even Real?” then filled the room as the lights built up as the audience began to yell with excitement. Greyson then took to the stage to kick everything off with “High Waisted” as the crowd immediately started to dance and sing. The incredible thing about being at a Greyson Chance concert is that you can feel the passion that Chance has around music and that feeling is also carried by his fans. In addition, the energy he brings is also created by the beats within his songs such as “Honeysuckle” and just makes you want to dance!
Following his performance of “timekeeper” off the ‘Portraits’ album, he took a moment to reflect on how DC was the first place that got to hear the record before it was released, so it was fun to think that ‘Trophies’ was also being celebrated here just a few weeks later. He then sat down at his keyboard and began to tell us a little bit about his experience throughout the pandemic and how it opened his eyes to his own personal journey he had been on before encouraging us all to “be present” in the moments we live. It’s easy to get caught up in what may or may not happen in the future or what the past has brought you, but don’t forget to live in the moment because “seasons come and go.” This led us into the beautiful song that is “Seasons” which he mentioned has been through multiple variations over the years and was once again adapted for 2021. This included a new verse that touched on the pressures of a label, COVID-19, and the journey of true love as well as buying a house.
As the night continued, the energy levels continued to rise as a guitar solo followed “hands” which allowed time for a wardrobe change before unlocking more hits that got us dancing such as “black on black” and the recent hit “Hellboy” which created a club-like atmosphere as the lights strobed and turned red while also transitioning into a dance remix while also reminding the audience that we are “the new normal” and anyone that has ever thought of any of us in a negative light doesn’t matter.
He then reached out to one of the fans in the audience and asked if he would like to join him on stage. He then pulled up a stool next to his keyboard as he sat down and asked if he could sing a song for him. He also took a moment to recognize George for the bandana that he had created and given to him earlier during their meet and greet. Greyson then began to play a stripped-down version of “Good as Gold,” a song which is absolutely beautiful as normal but when played live it’s elevated even more. Following that, he continued with a couple more emotionally beautiful songs such as “Holy Feeling,” a song he mentioned got him through the last year.
After exiting the stage, the crowd began to chant his name in anticipation of an encore. He returned to give us two more songs to quench our thirst for more music. Those two songs were “white roses” and “Nobody,” both absolute hits with the latter bound to climb the charts over the next few months.
From your favorite Photographic Ginger, this was certainly a night of music in DC that I won’t soon forget and it’s a show you don’t want to miss. Make sure to check out when Greyson will be near you and buy your tickets now! He’ll be taking the Trophies World Tour international this Fall before returning to the US in January.
If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.
