Concert Review: COIN & Tessa Violet
COIN and Tessa Violet at the Paradise Rock Club 2/10/18
by Hannah Gudeman
Over winter break, my friend Emma and I saw that COIN was performing in Boston in February, and the tickets were a pretty great deal, even with fees, so we decided to go. Then we heard that Tessa Violet was opening the show, and to put it simply, we both lost our minds. And now that it’s over, I can safely say that my first Boston concert lived up to and surpassed my expectations.
Tessa Violet delivered an energetic but intimate opening set, telling Harry Potter jokes while tuning her guitar and dropping a Sailor Moon reference during “Bad Ideas”, her latest single. While she warmed up to the crowd with songs like the peppy and fun “Crush”, she also opened up about her struggles with anxiety and her decision to start counseling, but she kept a smile on her face and ended the heaviest song in her set by saying “You are the first and the last you there will ever be”.
After a half-hour break when the sold-out crowd absolutely lost it to “Mr. Brightside”, COIN took the stage and brought the fire, with flashing lights, pounding bass, and enough energy to power a small country. Even with my view slightly obscured by the Paradise Rock Club’s unfortunately-placed support poles, nothing got in the way of the sheer hype in the room. From “I Don’t Wanna Dance” to their encore rendition of “Growing Pains” and everything in between, there weren’t any points of stagnation. Lyrics were screamed, feet were sore from bouncing, voices went hoarse (including my own, of course, since the day I’ll be able to resist “Talk Too Much” is the day I die), and it was a ton of fun. Even with an essay due the next day, I couldn’t help but lose myself a little.
The teenage boy standing next to Emma and I had his first concert tonight. I’m glad it was this one.