Dillon Matthew
Article + Photos for Daily Trojan Newspaper
Groovy guitar riffs. Perfectly synchronized harmonies. High-kicks. Unforgettable choruses. All this and more can be found at one of The Aces’ live shows.
The four-woman alt-pop band made a stop in the City of Angels on Thursday to sell out the famous LA venue, The Troubadour, for the fifth show of their month-long “Waiting for You” Tour. Upon entering the venue, it was clear that this band has forged a community through their music. Even before the show began fans were socializing with each other about the song that “slaps the hardest”, how soothing the vocals in “Hurricane” are, or how much they loved Jill, two of band members’ mom, who was live streaming before the show from the balcony above us.
This collective compassion for these artists was reinforced the moment The Aces entered the stage. Their confident, inviting demeanor brought a smile onto every fan’s face amidst their excited screaming. It was clear the rest of the night was going to rock. The moment the lights dimmed, The Troubadour was their space for the next hour and a half. This being said, their strong group dynamic and morale comes from playing music together as friends for 10+ years, with each member bringing their own musical inspirations to the table to create the idiosyncratic sound that is The Aces.
As “Put It on the Line”, their show-starting song, came to an end, it was clear what makes this group so unique. Lead vocalist/guitarist Cristal Ramirez took advantage of the venue’s intimate fan-artist distance to interact directly with the crowd. From hopping up on the stage’s platforms to leaning into the crowd to sing along with attendees, the emotional investment of everyone in the Troubadour was present through the way the crowd & the singers reciprocated each other’s energy. However, it seemed as if the energy of the crowd could continue for another week as fans belted word after word from every high-spirited, boogie-inducing chorus to each coda (outro).
Even so, each band member had a turn on the mic between songs, sharing their gratitude for the response their music has received, and amping-up fans again and again by hinting at the following song through clever anecdotes.
While sonically The Aces can be categorized as alternative-pop music, much of their live performance had a lot more high-energy excitement that was reminiscent of pop-punk bands like Paramore mixed with a little bit of Grouplove’s sporadic nature and MUNA’s powerfully delivered lyric-beat synchronizations. This is something that separates their studio songs from their live renditions. In the future their stage production could definitely match this to create a show unparalleled to any other band of their caliber. However, the money to create a more produced show simply doesn’t mean it will be a better one, and the creativity & passion that this band displays will be present regardless of whether or not they have large screens or designed sets. With that, it would be wise to get out and experience one of The Aces’ shows in their current state because the intimacy of smaller venues will be a thing of the past for these soon-to-be music dignitaries.
