Photos by Megan Hirao

On a chilly Thursday night, fans packed Downtown San Diego’s Music Box. underscores, playing a show between weekends at Coachella, turned the silent night into a lively one.

Eight o’clock hit and gabby start was the night’s opener. Observing from the third floor, I saw an undeniably engaged crowd. gabby start’s setlist consisted of their electric hyper-pop songs as well as some popular hits; “Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap and “Roses” by the Chainsmokers. “U n Me” particularly reminded me of the 2010s Minecraft sphere on YouTube. It’s fun, simple, and electronic. That theme continued throughout the venue. You look at the crowd: a fan films the set with their Nintendo DS. You look at the screens: you may recognize CaptainSparklez’s YouTube video, a creator known for his Minecraft content. These observations reflected the bigger theme of the night; amusing glitchy sounds and digital frequencies. 

After gabby start’s set, fans filed in and the venue’s once sparse third floor now boomed with attendees. Lights started flashing, a smiley face appeared on screen, and soon after, fans screamed in enthusiasm as underscores sang from backstage. A circle had already formed in the crowd, a foreshadowing of what was to remain the rest of the hour. Wearing a blue jersey with a guitar in her hands, underscores took center stage with her hair blowing lusciously in the wind. The hour kicked off with the first track of her album Wallsocket, the rock-influenced and pop-punk song “Cops and robbers”. 

gabby start © Megan Hirao

When it comes to electronic music, I find it especially enjoyable to hear the music performed live. That was the case for this show; watching underscores perform live was an entirely elevated listening experience. She played many songs from her projects Wallsocket and fishmonger. From the moremellow “Second hand embarrassment” to the upbeat sounds like “My guy (Corporate shuffle),” underscores played a setlist that balanced different vibes. At one point, she shined a beaming handheld light, and although it definitely enhanced the visual experience in that tiny venue, my eyes could not forgive how blinding it was. 

underscores performed “Poplife,” a song which at the time was unreleased, as well as fan favorites including the funky “Stupid (Can’t run from the urge)” with a video of Dance Dance Revolution playing on the venue screens. “Old money bitch,” Oklou’s “harvest sky ft. underscores,” “Your favorite sidekick (feat. 8485),” and “Spoiled little brat” were some other hits that were performed that night. The crowd was extremely engaged, and their responsiveness was impressive. The night was filled with mosh pits, fans singing along, and a fiery energy that’d be hard to tame. underscores knew how to harness that energy, and San Diego had really shown out that night. 

underscores © Megan Hirao

On the topic of San Diego, the artist played “Del mar county fair 2008 (w/ Maxwell Young)”. Del Mar is a beach city situated a good thirty-minutes away from Downtown San Diego, and it was the perfect song to wrap up the set. Old photos and videos played on the screens, and the audience had the opportunity to connect with a younger version of underscores through a dive into her memories of 2008. That night seemingly ended on a nostalgic note before fans chanted for an encore. 

Growing from one hundred attendees from a show one-and-a-half years ago to a sold-out show at Music Box, was a special moment shared by the artist herself. Seven hundred people came out that night to let loose and enjoy some electrifying music.

Coming back out for the encore, underscores played another yet-to-be-released song and “Locals (Girls like us) [with gabby start]” where she nicely ordered the audience to “open it up”. Bringing out gabby start for one last time, the two performed arguably the best song of that night; an eclectic song balancing the two’s dynamic vocals, including gabby start’s funky verse, a catchy chorus, and an addictive lyrical repetition that holds a tight grasp on you.

The vibrant and exhilarating night ended with a feisty punch and came down full circle to the calm it was two hours prior. After experiencing this entertaining night, it’s exciting to see how underscores’ artistry and music will evolve in the coming years.

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