Tall White Boys With Mustaches: Attending Concerts Without Knowing Anything About the Artist & Having the Same Music Tastes as an Average White Guy
A week and a half ago I saw Hockey Dad live, a band who I didn’t know much about. After the show I’m here to say that was one of the most fun I’ve had at a gig in a minute. This is that experience.
For the past year I’ve been obsessed with a genre of music I didn’t know a single thing about a year and a half ago. The genre is called Australian indie/ surf rock. It’s carefree and breezy with a tinge of post-punk. It’s music that if it wasn’t for algorithms would probably not even be in my life. It was only through discovering my current favorite band Royel Otis (who are in my opinion the pinnacle of indie rock in 2024) that I found out other amazing Aussie bands. Bands like The Terrys, Old Mervs, The Rions, Spacey Jane, and Teenage Dads can be heard constantly blasting from the speakers in my car as I’m making my way through my first year of living in Los Angeles. Though lost and often scared, this music from these bands that are halfway across the globe bring me a sense of comfort. An acknowledgment that though things are scary now everything will be alright soon.
A week or so ago I was tapping through Instagram stories when it stopped on something most if not all of us dread, an ad. The ad was for a band named “Hockey Dad” who were going to be co-headlining a show at the El Rey in Los Angeles. Upon seeing their name I remembered I added their song “Seaweed” onto an Aussie indie/ surf rock playlist some time ago when I was having one of those nights where I played a myriad of songs that fit that genre and added my favorites onto the playlist. I remember when I added “Seaweed” onto the playlist I marveled for a second at the band's name. Hockey Dad. Simple, two words, instantly catchy. After adding the song I honestly didn’t go much further into the band's discography and it wasn’t until I saw the ad on Instagram that I started to look through their social media. After some short scrolling I was invested and it seemed that they were going to be stellar performers. Seeing that tickets were less than $30 after fees, I purchased the tickets. At this point I had only known one of their songs comfortably and if you were to ask me to name the members of the band I’d be as clueless as a white teacher trying to pronounce the name of the Black kid in class. I had no idea where to start.
This wouldn’t be the first concert I’ve attended where I didn’t know much about the artist and their music. My first was last October when I went with my younger sister to see her favorite artist in concert SZA. I had obviously heard of her before and was familiar with her mega hits but in terms of most of SZA’s discography I was pretty uninformed. Interestingly enough, not knowing much about her didn’t result in me standing at my seat clueless and bored for ninety minutes. If anything it had the opposite effect. I was on edge, excited, even a little fearful. Since I didn’t know anything about the show itself either I didn’t know what songs she was going to sing or even what the set would look like. I remember being eventually grateful as during one specific part of the show she floated around the venue high up on an inflatable orange lifecraft. Again, not knowing she was going to be doing this during the show I looked up with stars in my eyes and saw her sing while thousands of fans lifted their phones high above their heads hoping to snap a picture of the woman floating above them like Glinda the Good Witch. Seeing the show not only gave me intense admiration for SZA but it opened my eyes to how much fun it is to see an artist I didn’t know live. The closest I’ve come to this is going to music festivals but even with festivals I’m still walking through those gates knowing that I’m going to be seeing at least one artist who I know like the back of my hand. It’s much different going to a show, paying for a show, where the main act is one that you aren’t familiar with. If I’m being honest it’s an adrenaline rush that’s unique in the fact that you literally don’t know what to expect. Upon walking up to the El Rey to see Hockey Dad I was the most excited I’ve been for a show in a long while.
With Hockey Dad co-headlining the show with an American indie band named Remo Drive and the opener being Tatiana Hazel there were officially two more artists that night I wasn’t familiar with. I paced around the cramped 771 capacity venue as people slowly trickled their way inside. Go to the restroom, look at merch prices, audibly grasp when they see said prices for merch, buy merch. This routine was something I was more than familiar with. Although while most routines such as taking out the trash or setting an alarm for work in the morning can be dull or even a bit mundane there was a bit of a twist to this routine that I’ve done plenty of times in the past. I was in a venue that I’d never been to before seeing a band I really had just learned about a week prior. You could also bring in the genre as a factor into this twist on the mundane as I’m quite new to the indie show. I was new to everything from the music being played to the types of fans attending these types of shows. From my limited experience going to the indie show there is a specific look to the typical male indie fan and to say I’m inarguably the furthest from this ideal is an understatement.
5 Ways To Look Like a Male Indie Concert Goer:
Be over 5’10. Height is a necessity.
Have a mustache. This is something of a new development I’ve seen with Gen-Z as a whole. I guess we’re going back to the 2010’s when mustaches were marketable and truly everywhere. I mustache you a question?
Wear a hat, preferably a beanie. I’m not kidding when I tell you I counted four different men in beanies and another five in baseball caps. Something that points to a receding hairline or does it complete the outfit?
For the entire show wrap your arms around your short Asian (most likely Filipina) girlfriend. I can say this because I’m half Filipino but I feel like if you’re an indie white boy in LA it’s a rite of passage to get a Filipina girlfriend that’s at least an entire foot shorter than you. This could just be an LA thing though.
Be white. That’s it.
Being much shorter than 5’10 (I’m 5’6), was not wearing a hat at the time, does not have an Asian girlfriend, is not white, but does have a mustache I still stood out (though ⅕ is not bad). Although I’ve always stood out at concerts I’ve attended in the past. Whether it be because of my gender identity at a pop show that leaned more female or because of my race at an indie show I do think it’s pertinent to not let it get to you. I think it’s important to look at these perceived differences as strengths and forms of uniqueness. I’ll admit myself I do often find it daunting when I look around a packed venue and can’t find anyone that looks like me. I do know though that I deserve to see this artist just as much as any other person in that room. A couple years ago I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts Sibling Rivalry when Bob the Drag Queen said something that I still carry with me every single day. Bob said that he carries himself with the same confidence as a cis straight white man. It’s this change of confidence that I started to carry with me that in my opinion has changed my entire perspective in life. I know the phrase “fake it till you make it” gets thrown around when it comes to displaying confidence but I’m in the belief that everyone is born with the same level of confidence and it’s societies often racist structures that bring down many Black and Brown peoples confidence. It’s through breaking down these Eurocentric beauty standards that have often been baked into us since we were young that we can gain back this confidence that was thought to be lost. Gain back this confidence and be able to go into these mostly white rooms and still feel comfortable enough to rock out and be your authentic Black self.
I’m extremely grateful that I was able to be introduced to Hockey Dad this past week. A band that I didn’t know much else about except one of their songs and the genre in which they play their music in. Australian indie/ surf rock is a genre that I’m obsessed with and I can’t wait to attend shows and discover new artists that I may know very little about. Though I know with Ticketmaster’s monopoly on venues and ticketing in general it can’t be difficult, sometimes impossible, to get a decently priced concert ticket I can tell you that it’s through going into concerts blindly where the only thing you may know is the band’s name that you can discover a groups sound and energy in a way that in my opinion is just not possible through streaming. After seeing Hockey Dad live at the El Rey I’ve become a really big fan and can’t wait to see what they have in store next.