We spend a lot of time prying into musicians brains on the subject of performing live - but what about their experiences as a fan? In this episode of Marquee Memories, Zach Grace from indie pop dream team flor shares some live shows that are forever cemented in his memory, and how he was a late-in-life crowd surfer. Watch:
Glass Animals @ Lollapalooza
"My first time seeing Glass Animals, we were playing Lollapalooza. It had to have been 2016 or something, and we had just finished up our set on a little stage. We ran over to the big, the headliner stage and caught Glass Animals. I could not believe how tight his vocals were, even though he was totally dancing and grooving like the whole time. He was getting low, he was getting, like, crazy and keeping that perfectly sultry and sexy, like, tone the whole way through it. And so, I took that as a little learning moment. He was a masterclass, really, in how to perform and still deliver."
Polyphia in Portland
"Another huge concert for me is Polyphia, not only 'cause they're incredible musicians and they put on an insane show. It's all instrumental. It's just so dialed and so interesting, but it was also the first show I ever crowd-surfed to, and that's a pretty big moment. Especially for someone like me, a little rockstar dreamer. They came out to Portland, they played the Crystal Ballroom, and it was getting near the end of the set, and I just knew that I had to crowd-surf. So I asked some people to lift me up. You'd think that I would've done crowd-surfing a little bit earlier, given what I do. But I actually hadn't crowd-surfed until I was 27."
"Crowd-surf much earlier, I recommend it."
Dave Matthews Band @ The Gorge
"This Dave Matthews Band show that I went to was really special because it takes place at the Gorge Amphitheatre, up in Washington, which is just the most incredible venue. It's this big old stage with a huge sloping hill for all the seating. And then in the backdrop, you just have this beautiful river gorge. I saw Dave Matthews Band there, then I got to see Carter Beauford play the drums, which is like a dream come true. I think he's one of the best drummers in the world."
"I was first introduced to Dave Matthews Band through his album, "Busted Stuff". There was a song on it called, "Grey". Being the little emotional child I was, I would lock myself away in the closet, turn on my Walkman and just listen to this song on repeat in the dark. I don't really know what I was thinking, I was a child. We do weird things. And then to be able to see it live at a beautiful venue with tens of thousands of people just enjoying the music is a really special moment."
"It was my first real like, "Oh, this is what a concert's like" moment. People are here to have a good time. People are here to connect. They're here to forget about life and become a part of something entirely different for a couple hours. It really showed me what the purpose of a concert is."
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Flor sets off on tour beginning September 20 in Orlando, Florida and runs through October 26 in Los Angeles.
