On Oct. 8, 2023, I walked into Toad’s Place in New Haven, Connecticut, for the Tobi Lou concert. I didn’t know what to expect, and when I looked around I saw there was a large screen on the stage showing the tour’s Perish Blue logo. As well as this, some songs were playing, but none were by Tobi Lou and he was nowhere to be found.
As I waited I started to believe that maybe I missed him, but to my surprise, the room started to darken, music started to play, and on the screen, an animation started. This animation was not what I was originally expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised.
This was just one of the multiple times that Lou caught me by surprise throughout the show. One of the most memorable parts was when, while I watched the music video, I noticed the crowd start to turn and form a little circle near the left side of the room. Lou then appeared from the crowd and went up to the stage, and was laughing so hard. That solidified to me that it was going to be a great show.
Lou started the show with many of his newer songs. I did not know many of them, but his energy and enthusiasm kept me in them and made them very enjoyable. As well as this, the lighting and speakers in the venue helped the music come alive. Where I was standing, towards the middle of the venue, I could feel the bass, and it made it so I could feel every song in my soul.
Later on in the setlist, Lou would start playing his older stuff, such as “Buff Baby”, “Darlin’”, “Uncle Iroh” and “I Was Sad Last Night I’m OK Now.” This was my favorite part of the whole set, as I (and most people there) knew pretty much every song, and it’s when the energy in the venue picked up.
Many times throughout the performance Lou would pause to interact with the crowd. This included talking about how he loves the energy in the room, telling people to drink water, signing phones and shirts, and talking about how he had never heard of New Haven before coming here. Three moments stick out to me though.
First was when Lou stopped to talk to the crowd and one of the people in the front gave him a sweatshirt and a note. When the note was handed to Lou, the crowd was chanting for him to open the note, but he didn’t. I’m not quite sure why, but Lou not instantly opening it showed how he cares for a fan’s privacy and feelings in a situation, and it made me admire him.
Second was when Lou took a fan’s phone and started running around the screen and yelling about how nobody gives New Haven enough respect, and how anybody who wants to diss New Haven has to go through him. It was just a fun thing, but it stands out to me and is something super cool. Plus, that fan has to be a Tobi Lou fan forever now.
The third, and funniest thing to me, was when Lou and I made direct eye contact for what felt like 15 seconds. Lou mentioned how if he’s ever just staring at you, it’s on purpose.
“It’s not because I think you look funny, it’s just because everyone’s watching me on stage, and there’s not much for me to watch,” Lou said.
When we made eye contact for so long it made me start to laugh a little bit, and I saw him smile before moving on with the show. It’s stuck with me, and his humor is something that I respect and relate to.
Overall, I would rate this show an 8/10. It was fun, energetic, and enjoyable. Tobi Lou was a great performer, and you could tell he was having a great time, too. It goes a long way in a performance when an artist can enjoy the concert as much as the fans. The only critique I have of the show was when he stopped it to talk about the new shoe brand he’s launching. It was very sudden and made the tone of the show a lot more somber, but most of the fans seemed to be digging it, and he was able to bring the energy of the show back up very quickly.
