Yungblud plays to one of their most intimate crowds at Connecticut’s Dome at the Toyota Oakdale Theater July 1, 2023

July 5, 2023
International Concert Reviews
by Jody Wilk Photographer/Writer

Upon arriving at The Dome at the Toyota Oakdale Theater, I was somewhat surprised the parking lot wasn’t packed yet, given the notoriety of Yungblud. This was my first time photographing at this venue and my first time at the venue in about 12 years. I forgot what a nice place it is and what an awesome staff they have. The concert was held in the dome portion of the building, a unique, clear span, wooden dome area constructed in 1972, which has a capacity of 1800 people. During larger shows in the theater portion of the venue, this dome serves as an atrium, bar, and social area.

Sophie Powers was first to take the stage. A new Pop Punk/ Punk Rock sensation from Canada. Sophie brings the voice of a young generation of kids that have grown up through Covid out into the open through a blend of pop, punk, rock fusion with some occasional hip hop beats mixed in. Sophie took to the stage in a blue and white striped outfit trimmed in white lace with matching elbow length gloves and leg warmers. I am assuming, since she is also a fashion designer, that she created this outfit. She really was able to get this crowd of generation z fans screaming and cheering and singing along to her songs. Utilizing the whole stage for her performance. You can catch Sophie on tour with Yungblud again at the end of July and beginning of August.

Sophie Powers is:

Sophie Powers – Vocals

Setlist:

1.Clearview

2.Nosebleed

3.Life Goes On!

4.Bathroom Floor

5.U Love It

6.Heart Shaped Box (Nirvana Cover)

7.Breakup on the Weekend

8.Greed

As the house lights dimmed, the Dean Martin classic song, “That’s Amore”, began to play as the intro music for The Regrettes to take the stage. They opened the set with 2018 single, “California Friends”. The crowd was immediately singing and dancing along to this young punk rock band from Los Angeles. Lydia took a minute to talk with the fans and let them know that there would be only one break in their set, as the rest of the set everyone would be jumping, dancing, and moshing, “because that’s why we’re here, right?”. She proceeded to get everyone to open up a line in the middle of the crowd, so they had room to mosh. They played an 8-song set including songs from 2017 to their most recent song, “Dancing on My Own”, a cover of the song by Robyn. Lydia was really able to keep the young fans entertained for the entire set. Everyone got excited for the last song, “Poor Boy”, when Drew got on the lead guitar and Lydia got behind the Drum kit. You can catch them as support for Yungblud on most dates through the rest of the month.

The Regrettes are:

Lydia Night – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Lead Guitar, Bass

Genessa Gariano – Lead Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals

Brooke Dickson – Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals

Drew Thompson – Drums, Backing Vocals

Setlist:

1.California Friends

2.Monday

3.Dancing on My Own (Robyn Cover)

4.Pumpkin

5.Barely on My Mind

6.Dress Up

7.Seashore

8.Poor Boy

The crowd was chanting, ” Dom, Dom, Dom!!”. Then, as soon as Yungblud took the stage, the crowd was screaming so loudly, I was glad I had ear plugs in. There was even one girl in the front row that was crying, she was so happy to see Yungblud up close. The stage was set with 55-gallon barrels painted black with different things painted on them, such as “F**K the NRA” with lots of smoke being pumped into the air around them. As Michael Rennie walked to his drum kit, the L.E.D. screens behind the stage started flashing repeatedly “OPEN, THE, PIT”. The main show had begun!

The charismatic namesake of the band took to the front of the stage and immediately started into the 2020 release, “Superdeadfriends”. “Dom” jumps around the stage without missing a word, and in between songs, strikes a pose, smiles and gets the crowd pumped up. He commented that this was probably the smallest crowd on the tour, but definitely the rowdiest! During the middle of the set, a fan was crowd surfed up to the front, and was brought on to the stage. After she took a selfie with him, he let her pick the next song. It was a choice between “California”, and “Psychotic Kids”, she picked “California” and the crowd went wild.

It’s amazing how much energy he has on stage. My daughter commented “I wish I had just a fraction of his energy!”. During one song, a fan threw a bouquet of roses on stage. He swung them around, during the entire next song, before returning them to the crowd. They closed the night with an awesome encore consisting of “Lowlife”, “Loner”, and “Machine Gun (F**k the NRA). I think the fans were just as tired from jumping around and singing along as Yungblud was.

It was my first time seeing Yungblud, and I couldn’t believe the energy he brought to the Dome at The Toyota Oakdale Theater. The fans had just as much excitement to see him on stage as he had being there. The support acts did an awesome job getting the fans ready for a killer night of music! You can catch this amazing, high-energy tour through the beginning of August.

Yungblud is:

Dominic Richard Harrison (Yungblud) – Lead Vocals, Guitar

Silke Blansjaar – Bass Guitar

Michael Rennie – Drums

Adam Warrington – Guitar