Goth Babe • The Aces • October 8, 2024 • Granary Live
Reviewed and Photographed by Austin Dayton
A near-perfect warm October night was made perfect this week as Alternative/Indie artist Goth Babe made a tour stop in Salt Lake City, playing at the Granary Live. With them, Goth Babe brought The Aces, an all-girls alternative pop band that happened to be making a homecoming as the band had formed as a group an hour south in Orem, Utah. Goth Babe has made several stops in Utah in the years past and the crowd at the Granary Live venue made sure that Salt Lake City would continue to be on future tours!
The Aces
As mentioned above, the supporting opener, The Aces, started the night with their signature high-energy indie/pop, quickly getting the audience to crowd around the stage. Made up of four Utah locals, Alisa, Cristal, Katie, and Mckenna, the brand quickly knew they were playing for a home crowd as fans began singing every word of their songs as soon as they started. With pink clouds dotting the sky, their music explored themes of love, relationships, and self-discovery as the all-girls band gave the audience an intimate peak into their lives, and at one point even asked their parents, who were assumed to be in the audience, to plug their ears. The connections with the crowd were immediate and their music was just what one could want to start the night.
Goth Babe
As the last bit of light disappeared off the horizon the intermediate music began to quiet but instead of an immediate entrance to the stage an instrumental intro music began to play. In sync with the music the lights began to flicker and fog filled the stage, spilling into the crowd. This went on for what felt like several minutes, with each passing second, anticipation built and just at the point where it felt like it may boil over, Goth Babe made their way onto the Stage. The packed venue erupted in cheers, as the opening notes of “Sprinnaker Days” began to play. The energy the crowd was emulating was immediately matched by the band they began playing, rocking, jumping, and flying across the stage.
Formed by Griff Washburn, Goth Babe is a true passion project of seeking and finding joy. With most of the music being written from a 36ft off-grid sailboat, the thoughts and soul of Griff can be felt in every song. Supported by a drummer and keys player. The three put their heart and soul into each and every song. Stopping after a few songs, Griff pulled out a disposable camera, took a selfie with the crowd, and then threw the camera into the crowd with the request to have it back full at the end of the night.
From the very get-go, it was clear this concert was going to be a bit different than a typical alternative/indie concert. The focus and attentiveness to the crowd was immediately present, and it was easy to see how honored they were to be playing for the Salt Lake City crowd, yet that respect did not get in the way of Goth Babe connecting with their music.
Just as the crowd was settling into their expectations of the performance, Griff took it up a notch. As “Sometimes” ended and “Casita” began, all of a sudden beach balls and floaties began to be thrown from the stage into the audience. With the beat, sounds, and playful whistles of “Casita,” mixed with the blow-up beach balls floating across the crowd, it began to feel like the entire crowd was on the Baja Peninsula with Griff. Quickly people began to climb onto the floaties, surfing their way across the crowd. Throughout the rest of the show, those floaties floated across the energetic audience.
An especially fun part of the night was when the screen behind the band was connected to Mario Kart. The Audience was divided into two teams, both represented by someone playing. As the band began to play the race was on. Cheers and screams came for both the song and the race as the two fought it out on the screen, ultimately with the left side of the audience winning. This divide was seen a few other times in the night as competitions for which side could dance the best or cheer the loudest were held by Goth Babe. To the joy of the crowd, the winning side received a cut out of Will Ferrell in The Elf.
Musical high lights of the night included “Mexico,” “I Wanna Help Your Mind,” “Crocodile,” and “Sadie” a song named after his dog Sadie. Each song having the fingerprint of what makes Goth Babe so addictive while each song also having its own soul.
As the set began to come to a close, Goth Babe thanked the audience for being such a great crowd, caveating it by promising he did not tell that to each audience. Heading off stage for just a moment they did not make the crowd work too hard for what was assumed to be the encore. Giving the fans exactly what they wanted, they finished their set with “Weekend Friend” as almost the entire audience joined in singing. As Goth Babe began to make their way off stage it was clear something was afoot. The audience was not quite done with Goth Babe, and they let them know it. Giving into the peer pressure, Goth Babe made their way back onto the stage for the third time of the night, cueing up some EDM music and proceeded to throw a wild 10-minute dance party with the audience!
There is something special about Goth Babe, almost a mixed message or a yin and yang vibe. They held an extremely nostalgic yet abundantly youthful presence on stage. Their music had retro tones that seemed to be mixed with modern EDM cues and sounds. Though his crowd is predominantly younger, many older fans could be seen dotting the venue. Goth Babe seems to have found the perfect median spot between wild and approachable, somber and excited, and even mindless and mindful. If the chance presents itself, go vibe at a Goth Babe concert.