When Vacations announced their third show in San Antonio in three straight years, I was shocked. I’ve never seen a band love this city so much to want to come back to play here so many times. Having missed their past two tour stops, I knew I couldn’t miss their “No Place Like Home Tour” at the Aztec Theatre.
The Australians brought along two opening acts, with the first being Alex Lahey. She performed a solo acoustic set, as she would later join Vacations during their headline set as part of their touring band. She even slightly hinted about having a “party trick” during that set – more on that later.
Her set was just her and her guitar; it was a very intimate way to start the night in what’s a very intimate venue, holding just about 1,500 people. She engaged so warmly with the crowd, taking time between each song to share stories and give so many thanks.
My favorite moment of her set was when she introduced one of her songs with an anecdote that took a twist.
“This song is about the gayest thing that ever happened to me,” Lahey told the crowd. “I wrote this song when I found out that two of my exes got engaged.”
With the crowd left stunned, she launched into the aptly titled “Congratulations,” as rainbow-colored lighting illuminated the venue with the crowd erupting into delightful laughter.
The other opener of the night was Soft Blue Shimmer, a noisy dream pop trio from Los Angeles.
When vocalist/bassist Meredith Ramond and guitarist Charlie Crowley spoke to the crowd, they were very sweet and soft-spoken when expressing their excitement about playing in San Antonio.
But, man, when the music kicked in, they were anything but. They definitely succeeded at amping up the energy; they didn’t do so in an aggressive way but in a way that was loud and visceral in all the best ways. Drummer Kenzo Cardenas was insane on the kit, complementing Ramond and Crowley’s instrumentation in a way that terrifically blended the dream-like nature of their sound with a noisy, in-your-face kind of sound that blew me away.
At 9:35pm, the Australian band we were there to see hit the stage. Touring their latest record, “No Place Like Home,” which was released this past January, Vacations opened their set with one of the album’s best songs, “Next Exit,” which had the crowd going crazy right from the jump.
The band’s set design was very minimal but full of little details that were thoughtfully designed to fit their theme of “no place like home,” such as a red chair situated next to a bright lamp with a white dial telephone placed underneath it.
Vocalist Campbell Burns, guitarist Nate Delizzoti, bassist Jake Johnson, and drummer Joseph Van Lier make up the indie rock band that played a setlist full of bangers. All the fans in attendance felt all the vibes for every track they played, dancing along to the dreamy instrumentals and singing along to the heartfelt lyrics.
“Young” was the song that drew me to the band in the first place so hearing that live with the whole crowd singing along was beautiful. Other songs like “Home” and “Be There” were also great moments that displayed the band’s tight chemistry, all rocking out and getting the fans so energized. The most exciting moment of the night was during “Midwest,” when every person in the room began jumping and some even dared to crowd surf, which is the last thing I ever expected to see at a Vacations show.
And remember Alex Lahey’s “party trick”? Throughout most of Vacations’ set, she was obscured by the lights, standing to the side of the stage with her guitar, until she unexpectedly commanded the stage with a saxophone. She first only played it subtly on some of the tracks but then just took over with some incredible solos that added another layer to the band’s already dynamic live performance.
The band showed San Antonio so much love for the support the fans here have given them over the years throughout the times they’ve stopped by. Van Lier even went as far as to say “San Antonio kinda feels like a second home for us.”
They wrapped up the show with a beautiful encore performance of “Telephones,” where Burns came out on stage first to answer the ringing white telephone that was sitting on stage and used that as his mic to sing what’s such an emotional yet comforting song. They then finished off with “Relax,” getting the crowd’s energy at an absolute high for one last time.
If Vacations wants to come back and play the Alamo City for a fourth time in four years, I’d be more than happy to see them again. The band may be from Australia but for at least just one night, they made San Antonio feel just like home.
