Tai Verdes w/ renforshort• May 14, 2022• The Complex
Reviewed and Photographed by Tomo Crestani
With his first visit to Salt Lake City, Tai Verdes played a sold-out show at The Complex on his HDTV Tour. There was a packed venue well before the opening artist took the stage. I was very impressed with the turnout for this show. Upon entering the room Tai would be playing in, I noticed a large number of people wearing merchandise from Tai that was not currently being sold at the show. It is always fun to see a strong fanbase. Although there was a large number of people wearing merchandise not bought at the show, I did notice a lot of people also wearing the tour merchandise. He had a hoodie that looked like clouds in the sky, which was a fan favorite for sure.
The Grand in The Complex was a perfect place for Tai to play. However, I noticed that he probably could have brought a decent crowd into the Rockwell, the bigger room at the venue. Either way, they did a very good job making sure everyone had a good experience. The staff was friendly and inviting.
renforshort
As the beginning of the show neared, the lights went out and music began to play. With a modified intro to one of her more popular songs, renforshort came out to “mind games”. She had a really cool performance style making sure to involve her guitar but also finding times to interact with the crowd. There was a lot of interaction between the artist and the crowd. I appreciated that she also was actually singing over instrumental tracks. Some artists that rely on strong vocals tend to play their vocals and sing along. It was obvious that renforshort was actually singing every word and was clearly a very talented vocalist.
Throughout her set, renforshort, kept commenting on the energy in the room. She was very impressed with the amount of support she was receiving given that she was not the headline act. A clear crowd favorite was her song, “new way”. The song has certain parts where the crowd can scream the words with her as she sings. It comes around at the end of every chorus, and it was fun to see the crowd react that way.
As she played her last song, renforshort began to bring the energy to an all-time high. Although it wasn’t clear, I think I noticed her crying. I enjoyed her set from beginning to end. I had never heard her music before, but I’ve been listening to many of her songs in the days following the concert. She perfectly complimented Tai Verdes on this tour.
Tai Verdes
Getting his start through TikTok, Tai Verdes had a very quick rise in his music career. He had a lot of fans come out to support him. He has a few songs that are very popular on the social media app, but the crowd seemed to have other songs that they were excited about. As he entered the stage, he stared out into the crowd with a straight face as they freaked out. He eventually broke character and began laughing. The music began to play and he performed his first song of the night, “drugs”.
Although the energy was very high with both “A-O-K”, and “stuck in the middle”, they weren’t the best of the night. There was still another level to go. I personally feel that the crowd was most engaged with “let’s go to hell”. Tai also was jumping like crazy. It was a really fun song to see him perform. The vocals were also very strong. You could tell he was out of breath at a few moments, but ultimately pulled together a really solid performance.
There was one moment when he stopped singing and addressed the crowd for a little bit. He explained how much he was enjoying his visit to Salt Lake and was very excited to be touring here. Although most artists say something like this, he did seem genuinely happy to be here that night. This was one of only a few interactions with the crowd Tai had. Renforshort was a little more engaging with the crowd throughout her set. Tai had more of a smooth transition to each song and didn’t stop to talk very often. There are good things about both styles of performing. But luckily Tai was able to bring the engagement with his singing.
As he began to get closer to the end of the show, Tai played his hit song “Sheesh”, which he sings with Surfaces. I didn’t realize Tai was featured on this song until he began singing. It was a cool realization that I actually already loved the song but had no idea that he sang it. I had a decent amount of experience with his music prior to the show but I definitely listen to him much more now. I think that is probably the same with most people who attended the concert.
Overall, I would highly recommend attending a show on Tai Verdes’ HDTV Tour. It was an excellent performance and a very positive experience. I picked up a new song for my playlist when I heard him perform “FEELING THIS BAD NEVER FELT SO GREAT”. I also really enjoyed hearing renforshort. She was a really amazing performer and would hope she can land her own headline tour soon. The Complex, as always, was a perfect place to spend the night. They made the concert such a fun experience for both the artists and the fans. I would highly recommend visiting. I hope to see Tai Verdes again soon and will be on the lookout for renforshort to gain some more traction in the near future.