PHASES Tour 2019

Chase Atlantic brings unforgettable energy to the stage as they kick off their headlining tour in Philly.

As soon as I bought my tickets to see Chase Atlantic in April, I knew in the back of my mind that it would be one of the greatest shows I’ve ever been to. And I’ve been to a heck of a lot.

I’ve seen Chase Atlantic before, but never a full set, or on a headlining tour. I’ve been a fan since 2016, but I had never given much thought to seeing one of their headlining shows. However, after hearing their latest EP, DON’T TRY THIS, I knew that had to see them. Now was the right time. And I was excited.

After waiting for 2 and a half months, the day finally came. I drove up to Philadelphia and waited for hours in the queue outside that was already down the street by the time I got there.

The venue was packed. Bodies were pushed all the way to the back of the space, even when the opener, Lauren Sanderson, came out. To be completely honest, I was nervous while waiting for the opener to come out. For one of the first times in my life, I couldn’t read the crowd. I was nervous that the crowd wasn’t going to go as hard as I pictured them to. There was a mix of everyone there: groups of artsy teenage girls, groups of college friends, preppy teenage boys, born again emos, goths, and parents, including the 50 year old man behind me who made it known to the whole crowd that he was “the hippest 50 year old there.”

I was not expecting that type of crowd at all, since I mainly pictured teenage girls, so it did make me a little nervous with anticipation. It helped jolt my nerves back into place for the opener though, and boy, did I need to.

There have only been a few shows in my life where I’ve seen the crowd go absolutely crazy for the opener. I don’t know if it’s the type of shows I’ve been to (mainly alternative and pop) or how big the shows are, but this was a new type of hype. The venue had a rough capacity of 1000, but that didn’t stop the whole crowd from jumping and moving around as soon as the opener started.

I had never listened to any of Lauren Sanderson’s music before last night, but after her performance, I went home and listened to most of her discography. That’s honestly pretty rare for me, but something about her was just so interesting, I had to.

Lauren came on stage and the whole crowd lit up. Most of the people around me knew all the words and were jumping, singing, and moving like crazy. Lauren’s music had elements of rap in every song she played, which is something I really love, and something I really love to watch live. I think that’s part of why I enjoyed her performance so much.

She had great energy, which is something that would eventually translate into the rest of the night, and would be the main reason for me writing this.

Energy.

She knew how to perform to the crowd, and she did a great job of hyping everyone up for the main act. It was a nice refresher from the normal openers I’ve seen, and definitely set the tone for the rest of the night.

Before I knew it, it was time for Chase Atlantic. Before they came out, something came over me, and I legitimately almost passed out. I don’t know if it was the heat of the venue or the excitement but it was an experience. As soon as I was starting to take everything in, the lights dimmed, and a rap song came over the speakers, hyping everyone up, and making everyone scream.

As expected, when the lights dimmed, the crowd lurched forward about 20 feet. I was smushed beyond belief, but I was so happy and excited that it didn’t even matter.

After a few moments, the intro video dimmed and Chase Atlantic came on stage and the whole crowd went absolutely insane. They opened with a new song off their soon to be released album “PHASES” called “Angels.” Even though I didn’t know the lyrics since it was new, I was jumping and dancing and, once again, going absolutely insane.

As soon as Chase Atlantic stepped on the stage, I knew all the waiting and smushing was worth it. And I could see it was worth it through their energy and how they performed. They ran out and started playing with the most incredible energy level I have ever seen.

I’ve been to rock shows. I’ve been in mosh pits. But, none of that compares to the level of insanity that I witnessed at last nights show.

As the show progressed, the crowd just got more and more hype. Songs like “Friends” and “The Walls” were crazy to be a part of. I have never been to a show where when the beat dropped, every single person was jumping as high as they could in unison with the band.

Mitchel’s echoing “Jump, jump, jump” throughout the show honestly added to the experience and created a crazy atmosphere that I’ve never thought I’d be a part of. During “The Walls” when the beat dropped, and the fog machines went off, I knew it was one of the craziest experiences of my entire life, along with everyone getting down during the last verse of “Okay” and then popping back up and going wild.

However, my favorite part of the show wasn’t "The Walls” or “Okay.” I’ve always had a special connection to the song “Lust” ever since I first listened to it. I haven’t quite figured out why yet, but I was not at all expecting them to play it, since it is arguably one of the less popular songs on their new EP. But, as soon as I heard the opening lines, my mouth dropped open and I went nuts. The song isn’t the most “lit” Chase Atlantic song by any means, but in that moment, I felt like it was. I screamed the lyrics the loudest I could and jumped so much that I felt like my legs were going to collapse. No one around me was seemingly going as hard as I was to that song, but that made it more memorable to me, and a moment I will never forget.

I can not stress enough and I will probably never shut up about the level of energy this show had. Looking back and watching some of the videos I took last night, I still have a feeling of adrenaline in my chest, almost like I’m still there in the crowd. That has never happened to me before, and goes to show you how special this show was.

It’s so hard to put it into words, and I probably never will be able to. A part of me can’t even comprehend it. It all started with the band. If they had come out and performed half-ass, then the crowd would have gone half-ass. But they didn’t. They went full out and the crowd followed in tow. It was actually nice when Mitchel threw his water on the crowd every other song considering how hot it was. When I looked at myself in my front camera after the show was over and saw that I looked like I went swimming and then got hit by a bus, I knew it was an amazing show, and one of my favorites ever. I know that when I come out of a show loving a band more than I did before the show, that it was one hell of a night.

Considering this was the first night of the PHASES tour, I can’t wait to see what else is in store. I just hope that every city can top Philly’s level of insanity and go just as hard as we did.