I saw Bruno Major with Georgina just last year. My friend LL was supposed to come too, but she didn’t realise that she’d be away from spring break and wasn’t able to make it. So when I saw that Bruno Major was on tour through Philly again, I thought it’d be nice to make it up with her, and Georgina was down to see Bruno Major again as well. Plus, the tickets were still only $15 like they were last year, so why not? The only catch was that Bruno Major would be performing at Boot & Saddle, a 21+ venue, and LL isn’t 21 yet. She has a fake, but it doesn’t always work, so we had our fingers crossed for this one.
She arrived at the venue before me and Georgina. Outside the door, she saw two of her friends (who she didn’t know until then had also gotten Bruno Major tickets) and found out that they had just been denied entry and were about to head home. The thought of missing Bruno Major for the second time was too heartbreaking, so figuring that she was already there, LL tried to shoot her shot anyway, but stumbled when the bartender caught her walking in and asked what her address off her ID was.
When Georgina and I finally arrived at Boot & Saddle, the three of us gathered ourselves at a diner next door to scheme over pizza fries and vanilla shakes. We would miss the opener, but we could still make it in time for Bruno Major.
The plan was that LL would memorise her address as we finished up the fries and shakes. Then Georgina and I would head back to Boot & Saddle first and text LL with updates about the bartender and carding situation. If the person at the bar was different from the one LL ran into the first time, she’d give it another try.
When Georgina and I got to Boot & Saddle, we saw two guys outside carding a group of people going in, asking for their addresses. Georgina and I had a little giggle since we were just scheming about it with LL, but then we immediately felt bad for giggling because we probably didn’t help the situation for any potential youngins trying to get in. (I swear, I’m the most suspicious person ever.)
When it finally got to carding us, Georgina and I were well prepared with the info on our IDs memorised, even though we had nothing to fear since we’re both 21+.
Inside, the bartender on shift didn’t match the description that LL gave us of the one she saw, so we gave her the green light and updated her about the two guys carding outside the door. She waited a few more minutes to gather her wits before giving it a go.
Georgina and I caught the last song of the opener, Eloise, who is also part of Bruno Major’s band. Then during the set transition, we got the glorious text from LL that she had made it in! Usually set transitions are excruciatingly long, but this one passed by in no time as LL updated us on her saga and we celebrated how she’d rub this moment in her friends’ faces, who didn’t believe she’d be able to swing it. The challenge of getting in made this concert all the sweeter.
It was so lovely seeing Bruno Major for the second time. There was so much less urgency about it and I could really be present. Plus, Bruno Major didn’t even have a new album out since his tour last year, so it was almost the same concert! He did play four new songs though. And since we were the first stop of his North American tour, it was the first time he performed most of those songs! For one of the songs, he hadn’t even written the arrangement yet, so it was just him and his guitar. This was my favourite of his new songs, which I managed to record part of (second image in the embedded post below).
Before this concert, I didn’t get the point of seeing the same artist twice, except to go see them with a different group of friends. But now, my opinion has completely changed, and I hope to see more of my favourite artists, again and again.
Have you seen any artists live more than once?
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Bruno Major // Fri Apr 26 2019 // Opener: Eloise
Boot & Saddle // 1131 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19147 // (267) 639-4528