seeing red vox after 10 years of fan-dom...
on july 29th, i saw red vox live. now, if youre completely unaware of who red vox are...you'll need some background info for this one.red vox is a rock band formed sometime around 2015, lead by vinny. who also just happens to be vinesauce. hes a video game streamer, and has been since the 2010s. hes always made music, and red vox was one of his many attempts. but its been his most successful by far. red vox has always been a lowkey band, most of its fans being vinesauce fans. but as vinesauce grew, so did red vox. red vox has released 6 albums, with another one on the way. vinny has always denied there ever being a chance red vox would go on tour. due to vinny's own issues with fatigue, and socializing as well as things like financially supporting something like that. but this year, a few months ago, red vox announced their first tour. now theyve done shows before, of course. but they were one shots around the nyc area. this was the first time we ever saw red vox Leaving that area. hitting the majority of the midwest. including indianapolis. when i saw my city on the tour dates, my heart dropped. i couldnt believe what i was seeing. and i just got done seeing tmbg! it was already great to hear red vox was touring, it was another thing entirely to know they were coming to INDIANA. indiana isnt a common tour stop for a lot of bands because theres nothing really special here. but we've been getting more populated lately, and theres more shit to do around here, so maybe thats why ive gotten lucky this year, and last year, with tmbg, weird al, and now red vox. anyways, let me move onto the show.
i had no idea how early i had to get there because this was their first tour. i knew people would be coveting front row much like i was, but i was hoping it wouldnt be as much as tmbg. i miscalculated that slightly. i got there an hour before the doors open, and i was about 10th-11th in the general admission line. the vip line was about as long. i couldnt get vip because that was 80 dollars a ticket and 40 dollars a ticket was already steep as hell for my parents. we didnt even buy both tickets, my good friend earthy bought me one and then we bought one for my mom. which then ended up going to my dad last minute. despite being a bit aways in the general admission line, and vip getting first bids on front row, i still managed to shimmy my way all the way to the front of the stage right when vinny walked up.
the opener was fine. im not much of a retro gamer, and that was most of what they played. what i did recognize i mostly recognized because of vinny. they were great musicians regardless. they opened with the goosebumps theme which was a crowd pleaser, and they also did the mii maker song and the wii shop channel song. very entertaining. my dad guessed all of the songs wrong and was super confident about them despite not being right even once. no dad, they did not play a song from minecraft.
finally, at 9pm, red vox came out. vinny was the last to step onto stage. they opened with reno, which sounded great and everyone exploded. the setlist for this tour is really great and strong, and well chosen. settle for less is on it, which i got so hype during i probably pulled a muscle (and pissed off whoever was behind me.) they played the entirety of stranded, which sounded beautiful and made me bawl my eyes out. vinny and joe (lead guitar joe, not bassist joe) did the solo together and it was sooo awesome. they did vomit in the ballpit, which made me headbang so hard i could hardly control myself but then i pulled a muscle in my neck and ive been paying for it since. but its worth it. for the first two songs i had my earplugs in, but i eventually took them out bcs i wanted to hear vinny's voice more clearly. joe (guitarist) got to play two songs of his own. he did great. vinny did backing, he also did great. joe (bassist) killed it. the crowd was really funny, and vinny was very entertaining. he was made for crowd work. seeing him and tmbg during the same year is great, because both double as comedians sometimes.
they played clone me and garbage land, which might be two of my favorite red vox songs ever maybe. i filmed clone me on my 3ds, since joel filmed the original music video for it on a gameboy camera! i took plenty of photos, none look too amazing but im just glad to have them. and i took a few vids. vinny played a song i never caught the name of but i swear i recall hearing him play before. perhaps in a recording of another red vox show. the chorus was something like "cheer up, cause one day you'll die" it was cute, but also made me a little sad. i had a bad morning leading up to the show. they also played a song that was unreleased, i cannot remember at all how it went. but i remember really liking it. they played their new single rent free, which was awesome because i LOVED that song!!!
the venue was horribly hot, but i managed. by the time the show was over, my shirt was very damp. my dad bought me the very last retcon vinyl in stock. i didnt get any setlists or picks, but i did lock eyes with vinny a few times. it was one of those moments where you lock eyes with a stranger in public on accident and you immediately look away, but i didnt want to stop looking bcs well i am here to see him arent i? it was awkward for the both of us. i could tell. there was a girl in line in front of me and my dad that kept giving me the stink eye. truly could not tell if she just Looked like that or if she was genuinely pissed off at me for Existing. there was a group of three people on the left side of the stage (i was on the right) who kept dancing a little bit too bigly and pushing people in front of, and behind them, around. and it irritated me horribly even though i wasnt even near them. if i was, i probably wouldve caused a scene. please act your age. you have a 21 plus bracelet, dude.
uhhh. what else is there to say? vinny sounds amazing and hes only getting better, and red vox has truly been graced with some great musicians. i only wish mike was still playing, because hes one of the best drummers ive ever heard. since mike stopped doing drums for red vox, they dont sound the same anymore. his work on wcgw, another light, and realign was amazing and gave red vox a signature sound that i unfortunately think it no longer has. and seeing him live wouldve been unbelievable. nonetheless, red vox still sounds great anyways. and i hope due to how successful these shows have been, they come back around one of these days.
i cant wait to hear what vinny has to say about his experience on tour when he comes back to streaming!!!! yaayyy!!!!