Saint Motel + Weathers  w/ JR JR
Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
09.21.16

Sitting outside shivering on the sidewalk, counting down the minutes until the doors open for Saint Motel’s headlining show at The Neptune, makes you very nostalgic for all those nice warm summer festivals.

The Neptune itself is a bit of an odd venue; right in the heart of the University District, it’s the kind of building that you drive by a thousand times and never notice. Once you get inside, it looks like they took an old church and hollowed it out, put a stage in, and set up some lights. It’s so different from big industrial arenas, but it makes the show feel like its own special little event, hidden from the rest of the world.

The night opened up with LA’s Weathers. Formed in 2015, the group has only released two singles so far, but they filled their energetic set with lots of new material. Weathers had a great set. Most of the crowd had only heard of them since Saint Motel announced them as openers, so expectations were few. The set was instantly fun, with catchy music and lyrics that will be stuck in your head for days, the songs were perfectly suited for a live performance. Front man Cameron Boyer didn’t stand still for the entire set: it was like watching a video of a slower performer at twice the speed. The energy quickly infected the crowd, and everyone was dancing and jumping around to the fun new music.

Weathers closed out their set with their most recent single “Happy Pills,” the kind of track that you shout along to with the windows down until you realize how depressing the lyrics about needing drugs to feel happy actually are. Nonetheless, the crowd eventually learned “our part” of the song, and shouted and jumped along enthusiastically with the band.

Walking on stage in their glitter parkas, electro-pop duo JR JR was the second opening band of the night. After seeing them at 107.7 The End’s Summer Camp in August, I was pretty much dreading having to sit through their set again. I was incredibly surprised however. JR JR had a newfound energy, love, and self-assurance to them that was clearly missing from their past performance. With a set that included glimpses into their promising upcoming album, an impromptu song written for a pair of friends in the crowd, and many visits down to the audience, JR JR offered a great time that really came out of nowhere.

After opening their set with a video played from a vintage TV at the front of the stage, Saint Motel began to play a track off their forthcoming album, Saintmotelevision. The majority of the fans in the crowd were “My Type EP”-era fans, leading to a very excited reaction at the opening keys of “Cold Cold Man.” The band’s music is really just a lot of fun. An indie-pop base with retro influences, the bulk of their songs make you want to smile and jump, and somehow fit really well in the space and overall visual aesthetic of The Neptune.

Throwing it back for the earlier fans, SM gave an energetic performance of “Benny Goodman” and then the sing-along ready “Puzzle Pieces,” off 2012 album Voyeur. Closing with the first single from their upcoming album, “Move,” Saint Motel’s performance was over incredibly fast. Running back on stage for an encore with their most popular track “My Type,” the band finished off their last few songs and thanked the crowd. “You’re always welcome in the church of Saint Motel,” said lead singer AJ Jackson, “we truly believe you’ll leave here as a different person than you came in as.” He finished his closing speech right before standing on the TV at the front of the stage, and posing dramatically to match the backdrop as the song closed out.

It would be a bit of an embellishment to say I left that show a different person from whom I was four hours prior, but it would also be a lie to say I felt exactly the same as when I walked in. Weathers had an incredible set that will surely be packed on the night of their inevitable return to Seattle. JR JR gave all of themselves to the crowd, refreshing overplayed tracks like “Gone,” with new extended instrumentals, and dancing with the crowd. And finally, Saint Motel showed just how much they truly deserved to be headlining a tour, with an unbelievably enjoyable and entertaining set–evident as you watched each audience member walk out with a big smile on their face, singing and humming their favorite moments from the night.

Review by Lulu Dawson
Photos by Zach Etahiri

Saint Motel, Weathers, and JR JR