When looking at how ruthless the music industry can get, something that is often forgotten is the value of real, genuine friendship free of expectations of reciprocity. People pretend to like people they don’t, because they know that knowing the right people at the right time could save their careers if push ever came to shove. Because of circumstances like this, music-lovers of all kinds found themselves at least a little bit baffled when brooding alternative artist SAINT and UNDEAD’s very own Sebby Jones announced their US-wide „Holy Hell“-Tour. While fans of either artist were thrilled enough to sell out every venue within a few hours, people were still left wondering: How would Sebby Jones’ new age pop-punk mesh with SAINT’s ethereal laments? Is there a place for shows where Jones’ cheerful proclamation of nymphomania can be the pathway for SAINT mourning their perceived loss of innocence? I decided to investigate, making my way to the duo’s Chicago show on February 7th and can say: I came for business, but I stayed for pleasure.
If you’re over the age of 35 and/or don’t have children, I don’t blame you if you don’t know who either of these artists are, although they’ve both built up an impressive body of work over the last year or two:
SAINT is the chosen name of Saint Harper-Yamaguchi, a nineteen-year-old singer-songwriter from Walnut Park, known for their devastating path through life (seriously, it’s a crazy rabbit hole), culminating in an eventual adult adoption by Hollywod leading man Austin Harper (31) last year. The young artist managed to cement their way in the contemporary music industry with the release of their sophomore album „Perish“, which received universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike and allowed Harper-Yamaguchi to be awarded the Top Artist award at the 2022 Legends Awards, beating out industry titans like Madam Vivi and Elsa Bergström.
The other headliner, Sebby Jones has been actively releasing music a little longer than his counterpart - the twenty-two-year-old London-native is a member of controversial Gen-Z rock band „Undead“, mostly known by mainstream audiences for their controversial lyricism and cutthroat fanbase. Unlike the notoriously reclusive SAINT, a lot of Jones’ fans love him for his extroversion and boisterous personality: He first made headlines for his shotgun wedding to fellow scandal-prone teenie-rocker FOXIE, followed by the release of his solo-album „The Freak Show“ in April of last year, catapulting him into the level of celebrity required to be cast on the 2022-season of Dollhouse, where Jones yet again became a central character after pushing „Londylicious“-singer Londyn Pierce (26) off a balcony during a verbal altercation. After this, Jones went on to win the Top New Artist award to mirror Harper-Yamaguchi’s win from that same night.
The two unlikely collaborators met „around 5 or 6“ years ago while homeless, couchsurfing together and „building a bond that most people probably wouldn’t understand“, says SAINT. The night of last year’s Legends Awards incited the feeling of finally feeling like the two had won something after being handed nothing but losses in life, causing them to make the decision that if people liked to see them separately, their bond would only improve their individual talents.
The show lasted for about two hours and was jam-packed with music, crowd-interaction, fanservice and some genuinely touching moments - I don’t want to give everything away, of course, but here’s 5 of my favorite moments of the night:
#1 The „Golden Age“ Performance
With the crowd still on a high from Jones’ performance of „Parents“,SAINT stepped onto a completely dark stage before only the floor was illuminated in a warm white light. „And I don’t wanna talk about love anymore / Cause it’s getting too much for me“, they introduced their newest single „Golden Age“ - a very personal hymn of reflection and emptiness, wrapped in a translucent bow of eerie sentimentality: „I’m so beautiful and it’s wasted on me / Because the taste reminds me, I hate what love’s turned out to be.“ The young artist’s wistful performance though, was what really drove the point home. In light of her recent breakup with Undead frontman Axel Parrish (21), Harper-Yamaguchi’s mournfulness feels real and tangible. In its core, the performance was a raw declaration of uncertainty, a very common feeling within the artist’s generation, showcased through SAINT’s lens - deeply evocative and bleak, yet laced with a deep determination to set out and overcome.
#2 The “Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today” Performance
“To be honest with all of you, I feel shit sometimes. Life can be fucking shit, ya know? Bad days, bad months, bad years. And sometimes I feel proper sad,” Jones’ stated almost solemnly, his English accent as thick as ever as he stood centre stage. All eyes were fixated on him as the microphone was secured to the stand, an impressive swig of a beer housed in a plastic cup was taken, and then the guitar resting across his back was swung to his front as a cheeky smile appeared on his face. “But ya know what? I don’t feel like feeling sad today.” The plastic cup was launched above the crowd. As beer rained upon us, Jones wielded the guitar and the beginning chords of the unreleased song caused a wail of screams from the crowd. “But I think I’m too late and I’m sinking now / And I need somebody to pull me out.” The energy displayed within the performance by Jones was addictive, eager and it pulled us all in. As the chorus hit and the Englishman paraded from either side of the stage with the guitar, the crowd came to life even more as the warm light bled into a multicoloured array of positivity over us. “While all the people are cruel, you’re an hour away / Don’t feel like feeling sad today.” Over all, the performance exuded positivity, an absolute eagerness for happiness to rule and for all signs of negativity to fade into the dark. The way he displayed himself on that stage, I could feel the intensity from him as well as subtle undertones of desperation. The want and need for everything to be okay with the world, and perhaps within himself too.
Avid fans and Twitter users already found out about the fact that one of the promised „surprises“ for tour was the debut of an as-of-now untitled track that Jones and Harper-Yamaguchi perform together. Heavy guitar riffs typical for Jones’ signature style meshed together with a dreamy, glossy production finish that’s commonly seen in SAINT’s most hard-hitting tracks provide the framework for the long-awaited official collaboration between the two artists and give fans what they were asking for. The lyrics tell a story of starcrossed love, giving fans sufficient reason to go crazy with their theories: „Wide awake all night thinking about you / Do you think of me too?“ SAINT belts, sometimes overpowered by the strong instrumental, but it comes off as purposeful, as if her insecurity is being drowned out by the noise of everyday life. „I keep on losing track of time / Cause what’s the point if you’re not by my side?“ Jones questions, and I’m sure after seeing this powerful display of compatibility, fans wonder the same thing.
#4 The Rainbow Flag Moment
Something a lot of people who don’t necessarily listen to SAINT’s music can attribute to them is a series of tweets they made around the time the Legends Awards nominations were announced. They expressed frustration about the gendered categories that barred them as a gender-nonconforming artist from being nominated in some categories, which heated the discussion of inclusion of nonbinary performers in an increasingly diverse industry and cemented the 19-year-old as an important figure in the LGBTQ+ community. On the other hand, Sebby Jones’ band, Undead, has just very recently come out of a controversy concerning the use of misogynistic and homophobic language. When a pride flag was thrown on stage during an interlude, Jones eagerly picked it up, presenting it to the audience, which led to mixed reactions in the audience, with some boos ensuing and several people gesturing for him to hand it over to SAINT, who reacted with irritation: „We’re not doing this.“, they stated, taking over the mic to remind the crowd that Jones, who is bisexual, was also a member of the community and „shows people a lot more kindness than I do“. Jones appeared slightly shaken by the crowd’s reaction, but seemed equally happy for his friend’s support.
By the time the crowd was begging for an encore, I was sold - the two artists had taken all of us into their two deeply distinct worlds: Jones’ sensations of anger, fear and perseverance in a world that is inherently against you, juxtaposed with Harper-Yamaguchi’s mindset of hazy sentimentality, regret and yearning, as well as the realisation that to her, the scary thing about the world isn’t its hostility, but its indifference. The two forces bleed into each other repeatedly over the course of the evening, allowing fans of one of the artists to get to know the other, giving them a chance to understand who they are and why their bond is self-described as invaluable. I had reached the end of the show, being sure that this was my takeaway; that this concert experience was crafted in a way that allows two very different camps of young people to gain appreciation for the other, because their idols have always held this appreciation. And then, both of them returned to give us one last encore - as a professional, I thought I knew what to expect: A final collaboration tying their styles together before sending the crowd off; yet what we good was so much more unique than that: A true-to-the-source-material cover of actress Lucia Hernandez’ (22) 2009-blunder „Friday“. The crowd went wild (partly, as I found out later, because of a viral video that showed the two partying to the notorious bop at a karaoke-club a few weeks ago) and I was completely transfixed, quietly cursing at myself because this completely messed with the holistic picture I had of the show. I wasn’t sure what to make of it - but I couldn’t help but cheer along with the crowd, because SAINT taught me that nothing matters, and Sebby Jones taught me that sometimes, Friday can happen on a Tuesday.