The Neighbourhood

Everything from my shoulders on down to my hips was squished between the different bodies that were packed around me while we waited for The Neighbourhood to take the stage on Tuesday night at the Masquerade Music Park.
The heat from everyone around me was unbearable and made it somewhat difficult to breathe. I was glad that the concert was held outside. I don’t think anyone would have been able to stand for two hours inside the Masquerade nightclub without the occasionally cool summer’s breeze wafting through the wall of bodies, cooling us down as we waited. People lucky enough to be closer to the stage were sprayed with water by the stagehands. Unfortunately, I was just outside of the water’s reach. Not only was the heat an issue, but the overcast sky threatened to rain just like the last time the Neighbourhood played Atlanta. Fortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. For some fans, the anticipation led them to start singing “Sweater Weather,” one of the band's top hits, to pass the time. Although, the singers were cut short when the lights flashed on stage and the haunting intro of “Female Robbery” blasted through the speakers. Jesse Rutherford, the band’s lead vocalist, dressed in all black and a leather jacket, despite the muggy heat, took center stage with plumes of smoke surrounding him and the band, and three LED screens on stage with black and white graphics to accompany the music. From the very beginning, Rutherford was a bouncing ball of energy. He paced the stage, waved at fans, and pined for the crowds’ reaction, which he easily got. I guess he knew that after all the waiting the fans did, he had better up the energy of the tired, hot, and sweaty crowd. Rutherford’s voice sounded deeper with a little rasp to it, giving the songs a sexier sound, except when the group performed “Lurk” and Rutherford’s voice sounded almost exactly like Justin Bieber’s. Then the band took on a more somber tone, staying with the “West Coast vibes” as Rutherford said. They performed the ironically named “West Coast,” “WDYWFM,” and “Wires” to set the mood before moving back to the high energy that the group had in the beginning of the show. Of course when “Sweater Weather” started, the crowd went wild, but the screams and excitement increased ten-fold when the twangy guitar cue for “Afraid” — which was also the last song — ripped through the crowd. Middle fingers flew up in the air as Rutherford got to the chorus and his fans chanted along with him. Later, on the drive home, my mom said that she could hear everyone singing the last song from where she was parked down the street. As the last notes echoed and the band left the stage, the crowd chanted for an encore, but were only lucky enough to get the band’s half finished water bottles and balled up set lists which were tossed out into the audience.

The Neighbourhood are a group of 5 guys from LA who have a black and white styled vision for themselves and even the fans participate in that as well. The band as well as all the fans who know of their black and white theme will dress in those colors for the show. Even the visuals during the show are black and white, they do not use colored lights, and have screens that show black and white video during their songs. Their music for those who don't know could be described as dark pop, alternative, and hip hop based. They have a tendency to have more of a hip hop styled beat with alternative guitar styles as well as a poppy melody that could be sang more in a pop way or fast like hip hop. Its an interesting style combination that works very well and is different than what you hear everyday.
The frontman Jesse Rutherford knows how to work the crowd. He moves to different parts of the stage going to the edge to be close to fans, to dancing when the mood feels right, to getting crowd interaction having everyone chant or move their hands in the air like him. The band plays a mixture of songs from their debut album, their EPs, and mixtapes, so there is a variety to for them to choose from. It's always great to hear old material, current material, and new material all in one night. The shows are high energy even though their songs while listening on CD are usually more relaxed and sort of melancholic, during live shows the fans will sing the lyrics out all together and dance and sway making it so energized and fun. Of course by the show being so great must mean the band does a great job, which is true the music is always on point and the singing is very much like what you'd hear on a recording. These men know how to put on a good show and the more the crowd is into it the more they are too. It was a blast having everyone dance and sing along the whole show, as well as it being the final stop of the US tour for their album it made it special to see them for the last time until they have new music. They are a great band made up of creative, funny, sweet guys who make their fans very happy. This was my fourth time seeing them this year and I will definitely be seeing them again. Black and white will never die.

We’d been looking forward to seeing The Neighbourhood in concert being as they’ve been our favorite band for about 7 years, but last night was hands down the worst concert experience we’ve ever had. The a couple members of staff at the Van Buren made it even more miserable. I fully intend on calling the Van Buren to complain. The fans were so disgustingly rude and selfish with absolutely no regard for decency. We’ve never experienced anything like it and we go to more concert last than anyone else we know personally. We always buy 4 tickets and buy lots of merch. We’re very supportive fans. We were uncomfortably crammed by some truly awful, rude, insensitive people. We have our usual complaints about the Van Buren, when it comes to lighting, sound and design, but our feeling is that the best thing about this venue is that its size has brought in some bands that might not have come to Phoenix otherwise. I hope when The Neighbourhood returns to Phoenix they play Comerica. As far as the band, who we absolutely adore, they were incredible and Jesse Rutherford is even more beautiful in person. That being said, we were disappointed in many of their choices for the set list. We did not enjoy either of the two opening bands either. All in all it was a pretty terrible night and it’ll take us a while to get over our disappointment. We went home and cried...The fans were that bad...Like really, really bad.

How do I even begin to describe The Neighbourhood concert? For starters, The Neighbourhood is by far the best band I've seen live and this was the second time I saw them. Jesse carries so much energy with him while performing on stage. The only thing I wasn't too happy about was the turn out of the crowd. As they said they did book a "hilariou$ly over$ized" venue but come on,who in their right mind wouldn't want to see such a talented and energetic band? I think they're very underrated and they deserve a lot more attention than they receive. Regardless of the turnout, The Neighbourhood made it their best efforts to wow the crowd that they had in front of them and I assure you that's exactly what they did. The crowd, while it was a small one, was so engaged in the concert and clearly no one was dissappointed. The setlist that they put together couldn't have been anymore perfect and it was exciting to hear new songs that haven't been previously released yet. Although the first Neighbourhood concert I attended I was able to meet Jesse and Zach, I liked this one a lot better because I was so much closer and could feel the energy and enjoy the concert more. Their music is so unique that it's hard not to instantly fall in love with them.To anyone who hasn't seen or even heard of The Neighbourhood I highly recommend you check them out. You won't be dissappointed.

The Neighbourhood was the first band I saw perform at Lollapalooza last year. It was super hot, and the crowd was excited with anticipation for the festival to kick off. So I was quite surprised when the band came out in all black. The lead singer had on a black hoodie sporting the band's logo (which he eventually took off). They started off really well, getting the crowd moving to the beat. Looking around, I noticed that there were a lot of younger people who came to watch The Neighbourhood. They sounded really good live, and they looked at ease up on the stage. The vibe of the concert was pretty relaxed and chilled. As the concert continued, more people started joining the crowd. What I like about The Neighbourhood is their eery sound that grabs the listener's attention. They really brought out that sound, and the band sounded just like the audio recordings. One unfortunate thing that could have been planned better is the order of songs on the set list. They played their most famous song, "Sweater Weather" in the middle of the concert. So, thinking that the concert was over after the single, several people left to go to another show. Despite that hiccup, The Neighbourhood really showed us what a talented, young band they are, and I'm glad I got to see them.

Hey guys!

My name is Sabrina and you will definitely be hearing from me a lot in the next few months to years (trying to make that sound a lot less stalker-y as it does). I've been listening to your music since 2012 and I instantly felt a connection. The way you write and sing about real feelings that a lot of current "hit" artists sugar coat speaks volumes to me, and a lot of your fans, something I'm sure you already know.

I've never been to a concert before and the fact that the first was on #THEFLOOD2015 tour, I will definitely be cherishing forever. I saw you guys in Pittsburgh and sang along to virtually every song. I will be completely honest and say that I was a little skeptical of how the live performance would be and how it would vary in comparison to the record, but I was incredibly pleased. I was definitely shaken to the core by how the live music made me feel, a feeling that I can definitely say that I'm addicted to. I just want to thank you for that experience as well as telling you that I appreciate every single word you write and that I often find myself analyzing your lyrics during the hardest times. You guys definitely have my support 100% of the way.

Much love,

@sabsterclarke (Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat)

The Neighbourhood was absolutely outstanding. Despite being in section C, Jesse made me feel like I was in the first row. Not once were people sitting down throughout the entire setlist. With the neighborhood having a darker image than most indie artists out there, you would expect the band to be a bit more secluded and reserved onstage. However, this ended up being the exact opposite. Jesse can work a crowd extremely well and is very charismatic. He interacted with the crowd throughout the concert. He has such a nice sense of humor. The lighting and graphics were really cool too and really made the entire show. They were more important to the concert than one would think. The overall quality of the show was an A+. The neighborhood was amazing live. In fact, they were much better live than in the studio. I showed up to the concert expecting to have a good time and ended up getting so much more than that. There's a sense of unity one feels after spending hours listening to live music you love with people who have the same taste in music as you. Without a doubt I would see them live again.

There is honestly no better place to see The Neighbourhood than in Los Angeles. The California natives' El tour blanco was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen in my life. Their energy never dies on stage, not even for the second they were told they had to cut the show a song short due to noise permits. They came back out and finished with the perfect attitude and performance. The music is impeccable if not better than the recordings of each of their songs and the graphics on the screen behind them match the vibe of the whole show as well. They can own an entire Victoria's Secret store with the amount of bras being thrown at them from the insane pit and their laid back attitude was shown when Jesse grabbed someone's phone from the pit and took some selfies making the entire crowd feel comfortable to be in their presence and ambitious to hear the music. Definitely a concert I didn't want to end.

I saw Imagine Dragons last autumn on their Night Visions Tour with NEIGHBOURHOOD and The Envy Corps. Before the concert, I listened to their album, I Love You. and I loved all of the songs. They were meaningful and were unlike any that I had heard previously. I was so intrigued by Jesse Rutherford's voice and I didn't know what to expect when seeing them live. I was not disappointed. They were AMAZING! Sweater Weather had just been debuted on the radio, so it was already a fan favorite. The song was performed better than expected and the performance itself was lively and full of energy. There was never a dull moment or any slip-ups during the entire set. This is one show that you would definitely want to see, especially if you are a fan of The NEIGHBOURHOOD or just an Indie/Alternative music fan. The NEIGHBOURHOOD is one of my favorite bands of all time, and soon may be yours too.

I put the following review on the “Bands in Town” app as well....

I’ve been to multiple concerts covering various genres over the years. So I’m not saying what I’m about to say without past experience. I am a concert junkie. I consider The Neighbourhood to be my favorite band so it hurts me more than I can express to only rate them two stars. Now I understand this was a music festival, not a solo The Neighbourhood concert, but their performance was incredibly underwhelming. Not only did they only perform about 7 songs, Jesse was-he wasn’t present with us! Me and other crowd members started to question if he was on something or just high. And...even if not, his overall performance was very dull. He sang off from the music on more than one occasion and only addressed the crowd once. Just very disappointed...I’m sorry nbhd, I still love you guys.