little image Album Release Show at Club Dada in Dallas

May 13th, 2023

This was a really exciting show to attend!! My sister and I have been following little image since we saw them open for Bad Suns in Dallas in February of 2022, and we have been waiting for them to announce a local headlining show ever since finding out they are from Dallas. Several of their songs made my Top 100 Spotify Wrapped playlist from 2022, and we have been big fans of the singles they released from this album pretty early on. When we saw the announcement for their three album release shows, we schemed to buy our tickets together as soon as we could. (The only reason the purchase was not immediately made was because the concert was the day after my college graduation, and I still was not entirely sure what my plans for that would look like much in advance). Luckily, our Saturday nights were cleared up, and we were able to buy our tickets in plenty of time so that this could be our end-of-freshman-year and end-of-senior-year celebration.

I always love going to Club Dada for shows because I am a huge fan of smaller stages and smaller crowds.  I have been to a few very intimate shows in this venue before, mostly consisting of a small band with an acoustic set or a single artist and their guitar, so I was not expecting much more than a simple run-through of the new album from this show. Before going in, I had only heard the songs off of the album that had been previously released as singles. Some of these songs had been out for a while, so my sister and I were very familiar with those and excited to hear them live in such a small venue. The full SELF TITLED album itself was released May 12th, which was my graduation day, so I didn't get the chance to do my own listen before the show. And honestly, I am glad I went into it without knowing what the new songs would sound like. The experience of hearing new music live is always so refreshing and exciting, especially with the energy brought to a live set that is never translated into studio recordings of songs. The entire album is incredible from beginning to end and I have been listening to it nonstop since the show. From start to finish, on shuffle, on playlists, and in the very few videos I took at the show. It is already one of my favorite album releases of the year. 

There were so many things to be impressed with at this show, but one of the biggest things for me was the production of the show itself. The album is very cohesively produced and the transitions between songs both live and on the studio recording are done so well, but the production of the live performance was incredible. There were three paneled screens behind the band as they performed, and the graphics on the screens went along perfectly with each of the songs they played. I have been to so many shows in tiny venues like this, but I have never been to one where the set production was such high quality and so well incorporated into the live performance itself. While I do think the set would have still been amazing without the set, it definitely heightened the experience for me, especially since I was standing toward the back of the crowd for this show. The visuals matched the vibe of the album as a whole, which I loved, and they were perfectly paired with each individual song, which I loved more.

I was also incredibly impressed with the energy of the crowd. I am typically someone who loves to take pictures and videos at shows, but I only have two short videos from this concert because of how much the crowd was involved in the set itself. The band did a great job of holding everyone's attention the entire time they were on stage. There was a lot of jumping and sweating (on both the floor and the stage) and the energy never deflated or died off in any kind of way. So many people already knew the words to all of the new songs, and everyone in the room knew all of the words to the songs that have been out for a little while before. I LOVE attending shows with crowds that are super involved in the show, I think that is one of the best parts of live music, and I loved that all three members of the band were so involved in keeping the energy up. The crowd was just very good at matching the energy they were giving us, which overall made it a very fun thing to be a part of. 

I love attending artists' hometown shows, I love attending shows in smaller venues, and I loved getting the chance to be at the final album release show. My sister and I have not stopped talking about how incredible the entire show was, each time with something new to discuss. Each member of little image was incredibly and impressively talented in their own way, which was especially evident in their live performance. They are super friendly and appreciative of their fans, which is always something so nice to see as a fan. Keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that they go on a headlining tour with this album now that it is out! I hope more people get to experience the album live, which is the best way to hear it, and I hope they play another show here soon. I would love to see them again now that I know more of the new songs! This show exceeded all expectations I could have possibly had beforehand and I cannot wait for our next chance to see them again.