SoCal indie singer gnash hasn’t been seen in Phoenix for seven years so his return to Crescent Ballroom transformed the intimate space into a lush paradise for The Garden Tour. Fans crowded close to the stage, ready to welcome him back to the Arizona branch of The Broken Hearts Club.
With the tour in its early days, each act was still getting their sea legs- and they all delivered whimsical, enjoyable sets for an attentive audience. First up was Brake (like the car) and his Care Bear flannel and bare feet skipped from one end of the stage to the other as each observer was brought into the fold. Anyone left on the fence was utterly charmed when he pulled out the ukulele, strumming through the end of a brief but enormously fun performance. Next up was acoustic guitarist Mark Diamond- and his self-deprecating humor and relatable lyrics were the perfect warmup for the main event. Both acts had their own eager fans in the crowd so there was plenty of love to go around before gnash took the stage.
The moon was rising (at least on the backdrop at the rear of the stage) as gnash emerged into his garden, meandering to each plant with a watering can right into the introspection of “u don’t get me” and “imagine if”. Real flowers adorned his immaculate white jumpsuit and he fully committed to the outfit with yellow gardening gloves and shades. The fans sang every word to gnash’s original material and harmonized with a slowed down cover of Blink-182’s “I Miss You”.
Gnash chose a lucky white rose for the “love me, love me not” game as fans plucked petals to determine the direction of the next song. Love won the day and “Pajamas” was the chosen track for the surprise song right into the unreleased “Autopilot”. He spent some time singing and reflecting on the park bench placed in front of his DJ and got the audience waving their arms in unison throughout the set, taking things all the way back to “dear insecurity” and “the broken hearts club”.
Phoenix was treated to yet another unreleased song before the night came to a close with “Fuck Me Up”. Gnash was open and vulnerable during this emotional return to the Valley and very clearly thrilled that so many people were there to say hi after such a long time away. It was a night of camaraderie and comfort and the hope that gnash won’t disappear for too long before we see him again.
