I went to the Michael Seyer show and all I got was farted on

Where do I begin?

I first want to thank my wonderful friend Riya for accompanying me on this journey and for her growing patience.

When I asked if anyone knew Michael Seyer, the following story was the last thing I expected to hear. That’s when my friend regaled me with a story I would’ve never considered a possibility: Michael Seyer farted on her. No, not someone in the crowd, Mr. Seyer himself farted. It was at his LA show 2 years ago. She held on so ardently to this, she felt compelled to tell the story to Seyer. I mean, how many times can YOU say you got farted on by a headliner? 

Well, this need to speak to Seyer became more of a reality than a wish; As we were standing in line to enter the Rickshaw Stop, he walked right past us! He made himself accessible to the crowd and to us. This alone was an awesome start to the night.

This fantasy, however, was short-lived. After fully going through the embarrassing process of getting engraved with Xs on our hands, the bouncer showed us the list of names (where we were supposed to be). To our demise, our names were not among the 7 listed. Do you know who was there though? Zara Kororoma. No, not Zara Koroma, current B-Side editor-in-chief. Zara Kororoma.

Amid our shock, what did we do? Well, we thought Zara was a placeholder for us on behalf of B-Side, so we slack-huddled Luke Lanterman (my amazing PR guy – readily available and awesome). He did me the super awesome favor of sending over the email that confirmed I would be added to the list (pictured below). 

Well, that didn’t work either because Lindsay Shelkin was not there to vouch for me! So huge fuck you to Lindsay Shelkin. All I had was a screenshot and a dream. Luckily the bouncer was chill about it and said “You two don’t look like the type to sneak in.” And although I thought was a little backhanded, I was really grateful to be let in.

In the first couple of minutes, we entered the venue and got to meet Michael Seyer himself! He was so chill and sweet. It was both jarring and referring to see an artist make themselves so accessible.  I was appreciative of the fact that he himself offered to take a picture with us. Such a cool guy. And yes, Riya did share her fart story but in the most cowardly way possible: She completely brushed over the punchline and said SOMEONE in the crowd farted on her. Rightfully so, Seyer apologized on behalf of the crowd (adding to his cool guy points).

60 juno was one of the openers. They played an amazing set that had the crowd catching a vibe of what was to come. I got the chance to talk to the bassist Marcus. He told me all about how cool his band was and the amazing people he got a chance to travel and play with. Just a guy who loves his band.

As 60 Juno was closing their set, none other than Zara Koroma sent us a text asking where we were. And to our surprise, she was there at the venue! Rightfully crossing her name off the list. I have no other word to describe this event but shock. It was then that she said her friend was the one who got her off the list because he started the Michael Seyer subreddit. Amid quarantine is where that relationship began; He described how Seyer reached out to him because of this and how that evolved to countless nights of them two playing Among Us. 

I did not enjoy sundiver ca. No hate. Just was not the music for me. Maybe it was somewhere in between the yelling and the moaning into the mic that I realized this. I could not believe that “Soundtrack for Your Backseat” came from these guys. It was a radical and dramatic vibe change from the rest of their sound that I could not see how the transition to that song would inevitably come.

When Seyer himself came onto the stage, I felt every single instrument hit every part of my ear canal. His sound is unreproducible. The mix of saxophone, bar chimes, cowbells (shoutout Jesse), synthesizer, and even a mini sound board were all the quintessential Seyer sound I had been yearning to see for years. It was so clear in the production that his sound is a product of community and passion. What added more to the appeal of his sound was his story. Mid-show Seyer shared how 6 years ago he had written the Bad Bonez (2018) album in his mom’s garage on GARAGE band. Also, he shared how in writing  “I Feel Best When I’m Alone,” he wanted a deeper sound at the start of the track. Seyer achieved this by exporting his garage band audio into MP3 and then putting it into iMovie, slowing it down, and throwing it on the album. 

He was a mesmerizing performer. Dare I say, no one commands a room quite like Michael Seyer. Fart and all. I did not know this going into the show, but it was fully his intention to play an entire album! He shared at the start of his set his ambition to play the whole Bad Bonez album. More cool guy points here. I’d never been to a show where an entire album was played. The crowd was alive every time he introduced a new song. Just Amazing.

The night closed with a promise from him to meet fans at the merch table for just about anything: a chat, a picture, a shirt. From what I can share from the show, I can say I went to the Michael Seyer show and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article and Photos by Heidy Barrera