Meaner Than the Average?
George Watsky is Anything But
On August 11, 2015, three friends and I went to the Fox Theater in Boulder, Colorado to see George Watsky perform. This was my second time seeing him perform and my first time in this venue for him. Usually, when an artist tours they will promote the newest album. If they tour in between albums, you will typically see older songs and deeper cuts from the album to mix up the setlist. That was certainly the case with this show.
Most people who are unfamiliar with Watsky don’t know that they’ve already witnessed him in action. He was Shakespeare, the Fourth Doctor from Doctor Who, and Edgar Allan Poe in the Epic Rap Battles of History.
Supporting his tour was a DJ who played the type of music you would expect to hear at a club. It wasn’t my thing but it did a good job of getting the crowd ready. The second guy who performed was named A1. Some of his work was done a capella, which was done pretty well, but all of the articulation he had in his skill seemed to have disappeared when the music jumped back in.
Suffice to say, when George Watsky took the stage we were more than ready. Most of the set-list was hits from Cardboard Castles and All You Can Do, but there were a few songs from earlier in his catalog like the anthem “I Don’t Give a Fuck”. He played the harmonica during one of his songs and the keyboardist also played the trumpet when the songs called for it. As was the case with his last tour, the drummer played a drum solo.
After the show, we met up with him. He made sure that he made time for each and every person who came to see him, even after security told us all to leave. His sense of humor was refreshing and the conversations we had were very real and not forced. You get the impression that hanging out with him that he’s an everyday kind of guy just like the rest of us. He was adamant about not selling out to corporate buyouts saying “You will never see me presented with a Pepsi logo.” There was certainly a level of respect for a person like that. Knowing that his success has stemmed completely from his own hard work and without having to compromise his sound has been an amazing experience.