A country in upheaval needs a strong voice and that voice currently belongs to Grandson. The outspoken, politically savvy rock singer visited Dallas’ House of Blues last week on the Inertia Tour to vent some well-placed anger and find a kernel of hope in the center of a mosh pit with hundreds of like-minded fans seeking change.
After British rapper Bob Vylan was forced to relinquish the tour due to visa issues, Ho99o9 (pronounced Horror) stepped in to fill the opening slot. The New Jersey punk rappers and alternative noisemakers could barely be seen under the wash of dark blue lights and frenetic strobes that accompanied their ever-changing tempos throughout the set. Anyone in the room new to the wild sights and sounds of theOGM and Yeti Bones got on board quickly as they welcomed the room into their weird and wild canvas of sounds, sufficiently getting everyone pumped up for the headlining storm.
Grandson has come such a long way since his explosive debut, becoming even more candid in his lyrics on his latest album, Inertia. In a rare move for newly released records, Grandson opted to play the entire album scattered throughout the evening’s performance- starting with “Autonomous Delivery Robot” and “Bury You”. Both tracks had different tones but still bubbled with Grandson’s righteous fury and succeeded in turning the room into a swirl of upraised voices and flailing limbs.
The setlist for the Inertia Tour was perfectly crafted, pairing tracks like “We Did It!!!” and “Oh No!!!” alongside “Stigmata” and “God Is an Animal” for a mix of new songs that called back to previous moments in his discography. From politics to religion to substance abuse, no topic has ever been too sensitive or off limits in Grandson’s writing and he poured all of those emotions into his performance on Friday night. The fans are just as passionate, letting the music wash over them and spur them into action inside the venue and outside on the streets of their daily lives.
Between songs, Grandson expressed his utter disdain for today’s political landscape, the sitting president and the major issues we face as a nation, while reminding the room that he’s created a safe space regardless of age, gender, religion or sexuality. These tenets have always resonated deeply with the Grandkids and they cheered with heartfelt fervor when the sentiments were reiterated. Midway through the performance, Grandson added in a cover of Bob Dylan’s protest piece, “Masters of War”, to drive home the point that he walks in the footsteps of those who came before and seeks to give a voice to those coming down the line.
The room stood in respectful silence as a prerecorded message from Bob Vylan played before what would have been a duet on “Who’s the Enemy” and Grandson made sure to give the administration an earful for rejecting the rapper’s visa on the basis of not liking the his forthright views in regards to Palestine and Israel. His should-have-been contribution to this tour was fully acknowledged as Grandson gave just a little more of himself to the rest of that performance. The most heartfelt moment of the evening came during an acoustic rendition of “Heather” where the mosh pit had a rare moment of calm and the audience let the song fill the room with its unfiltered emotion.
Not to worry- the energy levels returned to nuclear levels on the driving beats behind “Drones” before the main set concluded with what has now become Grandson’s OG protest song, “Blood//Water” as he jumped into the waiting arms of the audience. The fans refused to let the band go, cheering them back onstage for “Stick Up” to properly close out the night. The room was abuzz with the intensity that usually accompanies Grandson’s shows, as he’s curated an environment where fans feel safe, loved and seen. The problems of the world are still out there but for just a few hours, likeminded people took the chance to blow off some steam and find renewed passion to fight another day as they wait for Grandson’s next journey to Texas and beyond.
