Aly and AJ with Miya Folick at the MGM Music Hall in Fenway (4/21/23)

      Winter is usually a time of lulls.  Or relative lulls at least.  By the time of the Super Bowl, I was looking for upcoming concerts to see.  Aly & AJ seemed like a nice way to get into the concert season.  Admittedly, I hadn't followed their music as much the past decade or so.  I was in college when the older sister starred in Disney Channel's "Phil of the Future" and two Disney Channel movies (also known as "DCOMS").  The second movie had Aly alongside her younger sister, and that's when Disney started to put more effort into promoting them as a musical act.  At this time, I was either listening to CD's Delilah's radio show, and YouTube videos.  Now that I indulge in pop music (along with other genres), I thought that it would be a fun show to take in.  I had also seen AJ Michalka utilize her music abilities in the Goldbergs sitcom as Lainey Lewis.

      The more that I looked up Aly and AJ's, the more that related content started popping up (thank you algorithms).  I learned about their leaving the Disney-owned Hollywood record label, and two albums since starting their own label.  Now, they could take more of a sense of ownership of their music, and allow their music to mature with them.  I'm not sure just how great the independence was production wise, but but listening to their recent music (including the content of this year's "With Love From" album), I'm picking up that in the least, these ladies are able to incorporate a wider range of music while still having one cohesive album.  People still get the synth pop, but also a song like "After Hours" which reminds me of Wilson Phillips and 90's Sheryl Crow, and "Blue Dress" has a Waifs vibe  The influences seem to reach even further back with "Open to Something and That Something is You" which seems vintage Leonard Cohen with a country tinge, and steeped in this analog sounding "baroque pop" vibe.  That apparently is the term for the ethereal dream pop style that covers both Mazzy Star and Lana Del Rey.

      Getting ready for the concert, I decided to wear my C-Cups under a graphic tee.  The tee shirt is a '47 Brand "scrum" tee featuring the Anaheim Ducks' "Wild Wing" logo.  Like some of Aly & AJ's reclaiming their Disney era music, the Ducks have been experimenting ways to incorporate the logo from their Disney-owned years while in the colors of their current brand identity.  i wore the ducks shirt with high rise flare legged jeans and a corduroy jacket (both from the Gap).  I then punctuated the look lithesome faux leather Chelsea boots from the DSW house brand "No. 6".  This boot selection is inspired by a model of "bootie" which I couldn't find in my size.

      Arriving at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway, I was greeted by an opening set performed by Miya Folick.  Like when I saw Brittany Howard open for Brandi Carlile, the bonus wasn't just in getting a bonus set, but you're introduced to a new artist (and new music) for future listening.  Tours like these allow less well known artists the opportunity granted by exposure.  Miya got to play some songs off her new album a month before its release date.  Mixed in with selections from her previous album, we as an audience were provided context behind many of these songs in a presentation style that reminded me of VH1 Storytellers.      Broadly under the "Indie" umbrella of sub-genres, Miya's music reminds me of seeing peers perform at bars and student centers in Syracuse, NY.  Her first album (2018's "Premonitions") had some songs about introspection and relationships which (in tune) I'd compare to Dido (crossed with Sara Bareilles), and the nature of the album jolts to life with such songs as the sensuous "Freak Out".  Friday's show integrated in songs for the new album "Roach", further analyzing feelings, emotions, and family (oneself, and the relationship with past generations"  Songs like "2007" backs up my instinct in thinking that 2018's "Baby Girl" was about the self-care act of "inner child work".In songs such as Cartoon Clouds, there's a grappling with aging.  Angst about aging.  So many would say that this is nothing, but also in my 30's I can relate.  In "2007", Miya sings about an internal disconnect between her internal self, the woman she is, and who, and aging in the future.  Personally, this resonates with feelings that I've had while coming out.  Transitioning in my mid 30's, I'm coming to recognize the self who out of repression (and other societal factors) wasn't able to communicate herself accurately for almost four decades.  It would be fascinating to be able to discus these songs with the singer/songwriter.  After the show, I did get the opportunity to speak with Miya about her song "Confetti".  The loss of a parent is something that we've each experienced, and there's places, musicians, and other facets of life through which that loved one's sense of being continues to residually resonate.  The day that I was seeing a bluegrass band perform coincidentally was the anniversary of when I lost an uncle who enjoyed that very band.  

      The Michalka sisters then took the stage, with a set drawing from their Disney and Indie albums.  There was a large amount of fans who had been listening to the sisters' work since the first album, and the crowd"s enthusiasm many of stunning.  By "Like Whoa", I was singing along with the audience as the theater filled with our resonance.  That immersion into the Aly &AJ fanbase environment has now impacted my radio listing for the better. 

      What was most intimidating was the self-conscious feeling of impostor syndrome being there among the rest of the fans.   hen I saw Brandi Carlile's concert last fall, there was a notably queer presence among the crowd, and I right way felt one with the community of fans.  But looking around at many cisgender people (and I'm not sure what percentage of the fanbase is straight), I started feeling like an awkward guest.  The woman to my left was standing in the stadium style row swaying, waving her arms, and often giving me little looks over her shoulder as I was trying to see the stage.  I'd in all optimism like to think that she was just authentically getting overwhelmingly into the music, but those looks further down the row showed that she was cognizant that there were other people whose views she was obstructing.  Chalk this up as her trying to per formatively stand out through the show?  Leaning forward just a little, I was hoping for this person to tire herself out to the point where she'd have to take a seat.  That "sitting down" was more of a leaning against the folded seat.  I thought of Nellie Bowles's latest "TGIF" column for Free Press.  In the wake of hype-defensive shootings committed by no one single archetype, she summed up that in the wake of the COVID 19 lockdown, the most needed solution to this violence is to speak with strangers, and build the sense of community that may not have even been there in the first place.  It personalizes a stranger, and has the ability to show how that person may be (mind the cliché) "a friend that you have not met".  Given that advise, I turned to the woman only other side, and asked her if she was still able to see the show fine as I tried looking around waving arms.  She could, and understood the predicament that I faced (our row faced the stage at an angle, so everyone was trying to see what was going on to our left side).  She also appreciated my concern for her being able to enjoy the show too.

      As the show let out, I was able to have a conversation with a pair of fans who had made the interstate trip from Vermont, and we spoke of the music, and other concerts planned.  Before leaving, I got to meet Miya, and briefly geek out about music, and metaphysical feelings associated with live music and personal connections with songs.  That's one of my favorite parts of meet & greets.  The perspectives between the artist and relative layperson isn't so much an "us" and "them" dynamic.  It's more humanizing, and shows how if they can succeed in following their dreams, so can you.  It's less likely that you may see someone wanting to be treated with the idol worship of some latter day demigod whose achievements are on a level that's impossible for others to reach.

      Once more touching on the subject of the shootings in Texas, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, and tragic incidents beyond that week's span, I'm going to quickly suggest that you consider signing Aly & AJ's gun safety pledge.  In an approach not completely right wing, left wing, or centrist, and I'd like to think that its mission and intent resonates with most of society.  It asks people to ask one gun owner if they properly store their firearms and ammunition locked up, and there are possible reasons for your question on the website in case you don't want to feel so alone in your query and concern.  Learn more at PledgeToAsk.org.

Thank you for reading.  Feel free to comment below. 

Best,

Ken