ALDN Has His Fans in a Trance
Rising star ALDN performed at the Bowery Ballroom, where the crowd was in his control
At the merch table, ALDN’s name was plastered all over T-shirts.
December 18, 2022
As soon as I entered the Bowery Ballroom on Nov. 27, I felt the sensation of the ecstatic community. With a line wrapped around the block, I was intrigued to see how the night would unfold.
Fans were dressed in punk rock couture that had an early 2000s flare, which is what hyperpop, the genre in which ALDN got his start, entails. There were two openers, Heavn and Poptropicaslutz, that resembled the music that ALDN made.
Before I stepped into the actual concert area, I stopped by the merch table where ALDN’s name was plastered all over T-shirts. I watched as a girl purchased a shirt with ALDN’s notorious logo on it. Several concertgoers were even wearing the same hats that the musicians were wearing during Poptropicaslutz’s performance.
In the concert area, strobe lights coated the venue, and a giant disco ball hung from the ceiling, which would later reflect on fans.. The area was filled with so many young adults waiting to hear the up-and-coming hyperpop artists. I witnessed numerous posters and signs dedicated to ALDN, signifying their love for his music.
A group of parents were sitting together and talking about their children performing. They were none other than the parents of Christian Cicilia and Nick Crawford, who are also known as Poptropicaslutz. When the music started playing, the parents were the loudest people at the venue. They even interacted with fans and started dancing with them, in order to make the crowd come to life. It was fun watching them be so proud of their children.
Throughout the night, the crowd interacted with the musicians. Some interactions included playing rock, paper, scissors and starting a mosh pit that would allow fans to start singing into the mic as well. ALDN tried his best to give each fan a high-five, but with so many people lined up at the stage, it was proven too difficult to get to everyone.
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As soon as ALDN appeared on stage, the lights hit him, and he was ready to perform. His song “Predictable” was the song that stood out to me the most. The crowd became restless while hearing this, and ALDN seemed to have the most fun performing this song. His energy to perform was clearly present as he interacted with the crowd and danced around with them too. Once he started to sing, everyone started to sing with him. At this point, how could they not? His joyful energy was infectious. Later on, as the performance came to an end, fans would start fighting for a chance to touch the musician. It was an incredible ending to the night, and after a 30 minute performance, it felt as if the crowd was finally satisfied for the night.
I was thrown into a new genre of music that had me dancing and jumping up and down. It was as if he put the crowd in a trance. Everyone had their eyes on ALDN and made it their mission to pay close attention. The crowd sprung to life and danced around as ALDN performed his most popular songs. Although this was the second to last concert on ALDN’s tour, it felt like his final performance that ended on a hypnotic note.
