Poodle skirts. Kitten heels. Couples everywhere. At least three men with pompadours. Elvis styled slick-backs. Leather jackets. Couples everywhere. For a second, I thought I’d been transported back to the ‘50s, but I was actually just at a Stephen Sanchez concert.
Stephen Sanchez and his band The Moon Crests performed at the downtown Sacramento venue Ace of Spades on Nov. 1, as a part of his ongoing tour. The performance opened with support from Nashville-based musician Stephen Day. The tour follows the release of Sanchez’s second full-length album “Angel Face,” released in September.
The Sacramento show was sold out, evident by the line that spanned two blocks around the venue. Fans sported colorful ’50s attire, and concertgoers of all ages lined up an hour before the 7 p.m. show. Walking to the entrance, I saw families with younger kids, teenagers and couples of all ages.
Stephen Day came on at 8 p.m. A man with violent sideburns and a kind but commanding mustache came out in a neon red jacket. He started with a lively upbeat rendition of his song “On Top of the World,” and I realize I’ve just fallen in love. Not with anyone in particular, but the music was so romantic, I’m sure I would have if anyone glanced at me.
My favorite song in Day’s set was his performance of “All This Space,”. the pop song about wanting to be closer to a lover. “I wanna hang out / And Crash at your place / Order take out / and get rid of all this space,” he sang. The song has been on repeat and passionately belted by yours truly since I started writing this. That says a lot about the power of this crush anthem, coming from someone who does not typically care for sappy romance.
“It’s amazing. I love this city. Greatest crowd energy,” Day said on performing in Sacramento.
Sanchez and The Moon Crests started their performance at exactly 9:15 p.m. Sanchez was backlit by a warm, halo-like yellow glow. He opened with “Something About Her,” a song about heartbreak. He was supported by his band, altogether an ensemble of six. The band members donned black and white tuxedos with bow ties, while Sanchez wore a black tux.
The opening song was gentle, and the romantic elation I felt from Day’s performance was subdued by the dreamlike vocals of Sanchez. The music was nice, but the Stephen Sanchez concert experience is made complete by the passion of his fans and the heavenly ambiance of the venue and lighting.
Sanchez’s music is poetically written and encompasses elements of rock, pop and folk in a nostalgic love letter to an 80-year-old era of music. Sanchez gained much of his popularity for his blues and soul-inspired pop song “Until I Found You,” which went viral on TikTok earlier this year.
“I really like old-timey music, and when I found [Stephen Sanchez’s] music on TikTok, I started listening to more stuff,” said fan Savanna Serrano while waiting in line with her boyfriend.
Like I’ve already stressed, there were many couples. And if you’ve ever had a chance to listen to the lyrics of Sanchez’s music, you’d understand why.
Between each song, Sanchez explained a fictional backstory, integrating each song’s lyrics into a grander narrative about a woman named Evangeline, which is also the name of one of the songs off of his record “Angel Face.”
“Now I will get on with a tale of woe, the story begins 59 long years ago. It’s at a club called ‘The Angel,’ that was owned by a no good mob boss by the name of Hunter, who is a lover of our lover Evangeline. And the troubadour and Evangeline spark up a secret romance upon meeting. And this was one of those songs written for Evangeline.” Sanchez said, introducing his song “No One Knows.”
The night ended with Sanchez’ most popular song, “Until I Found You.” Sanchez is continuing touring through December.
