Concert review: Yungblud w/ The Regrettes and Games We Play | 07.21.23, Saint Louis Music Park (with photo gallery)

Games We Play started out the evening with huge energy and hilarious onstage banter. From the poll taken by the artists, most of the fans there for the headliner had never seen the band before but you wouldn’t know it as super respect was shown. The crowd chanted, danced, moshed, and laughed along singing and screaming which didn’t surprise me in the slightest (more on this in a second). 

Up next, the Regrettes power-pop-punked through almost a dozen tunes. Female fronted + chick guitarist and bassist was a sight for sore eyes. Their set was fun and felt early-No-Doubt spirited and I didn’t want their set to end. They definitely made a fan out of me in a short time and I’m already looking forward to their next time through town.  Singer Lydia Knight ended their set with playing the drums and doing damned good on them. So definitely catch them whenever they come to town! 

From my vantage point, I saw a quiet and docile Dominic Harrison. He was sitting on an equipment box waiving to kids and a few screaming girls, but as the house lights went down and the stage lights and sounds came on, a switch flipped and Yungblud gave his all. Opening with “21^st Century Liability,” he played up a bad boy rock n’ roller like a super-charged Billy Idol back in the day, complete with killer shades. He’d go on and on with no stopping for 13 more songs and the energy of a car race at full speed. When the momentum slowed, he never failed to remind people why they were there of all places. He wrote his first album six years ago—alone, a freak unworthy of love or recognition—and then, to still be touring this far after, his mind is still blown. He reminded people—the people of all ages, races, pronouns, and orientations—that we’re all valid. I looked around and remembered back to the whole night and how these fans, certainly no stranger to judgement, can flip that negativity into such support and it’s because of artists like Yungblud who put their heart, soul, and fragility out there for us all to share in. In a world full of people negative and hopeless, music and especially THIS musician supports and affects such positive mental health. | Diane Ruff