Quarters of Change "Portraits" Tour at the Foundry in Philadelphia

April 24th, 2024

Those of you who have been following me for a minute are probably well aware that traveling for a concert is my favorite thing on planet Earth. I think very few things come close to the feeling of being in another city or state, far from home, with the sole intention of seeing an artist I love. Going with friends is always a huge bonus, but there is actually nothing more rewarding to me personally than getting one of my sisters into a band or musician in time for a tour. I do have several sisters to try my chances with each time I'm anticipating a concert, but Elli is typically one of the hardest to rope into my existing interests. She gets set on the things she likes and expands her music library when she's looking for something new, and Quarters of Change sprung up on us at the perfect time for Elli to get invested. She is a musician herself, definitely one of the most talented in my very musical family, so I was really excited when she told me she looked them up on her own and picked out a few favorite songs because of how strong the guitar riffs are in their songs. "Rift" was her first favorite and I believe that is still her number one favorite QOC song to this day. This was a huge win for me personally. She got into it just in time for their last-minute ACL set, which just barely preceded the drop of "Heaven Bound" (the best song maybe ever) and Portraits (their second full-length album).

We knew a tour was coming, but we did not plan for all of the "part one" stops to be so far outside of Texas (which is criminal, btw), so we had to take matters into our own hands...

Elli and I took a little 12-hour side quest during our family trip to New York this past weekend. While traveling far for shows is something I have grown quite accustomed to in the past few years, Elli is still a junior in high school, so this took some serious advanced planning and campaigning with my parents. Lucky for us, our parents are also huge live music lovers, and they allowed this to work out for us exactly the way we needed it to. Shoutout Mom and Dad, you guys rock so hard xx

April 20th, 2024

This was Saturday, day 3 of our family trip, so we spent a little time doing normal family things in New York before we ran off to the concert. By that, I mean we got bagels and saw the Blue Man Group (which was not at all what I thought it'd be, but definitely a Payne family milestone that will be reminisced upon for years to come, I'm sure). After a bit more wandering that resulted in us losing track of my older sister and brother in the weed-themed market going on in Washington Square Park, Elli and I made our way to Philly!

We took the subway to Penn Station, hopped on an Amtrak and then an Uber, and made it safely and successfully to meet my dear friend Alex in line in Philadelphia. We took the midnight train back to NYC after the show. Public transportation is a miraculous thing that we do not have much of in the suburbs of North Texas, so this whole excursion was kind of unfamiliar territory for the Paynes present until we were in the QOC crowd. Elli and I definitely know what's up in a QOC crowd lol.

The show was at the Foundry, the smaller room above the Fillmore. The venue was cute and well-organized. I have nothing negative to say about the space, staff, or event itself. There was another show going on downstairs, so I know a few fans were waiting in the wrong lines for parts of the queuing process, but each line was let in at a different time, so it was cleared up really quickly and easily. I love being really excited about an event with laid-back organization; it takes away almost all aspects of pre-show anxiety for me and makes the experience more seamlessly enjoyable as a fan, which is always awesome as someone who has anxiety about absolutely everything.

Another great aspect of this show for us was having The Band Light as the opener. I had seen and heard a few people posting and talking about them before, but I went into the set almost completely blind to what the music would be like. I loved it. Their stage presence was so insane that we were genuinely surprised by how young the band was when we googled them after the show. They carry themselves like experienced performers and the music was so fun and different from what I was expecting, so this was a pleasant surprise for me and the people I was with. They have also been a fun follow on social media since the show, so I would definitely recommend finding their Instagram and TikTok pages and looking out for new music from them. They were awesome and super sweet to talk to after the show too! (And if you guys ever find yourselves in Texas, I know a couple people who will show up for y'all in the Dallas area).

Quarters of Change were everything I wanted them to be and more. My only semi-constructive note is I wish the setlist had been a little longer. 12 songs when you have two full-length albums and several other smaller projects is actual insanity. However!! This was the only part one stop that we managed to go to, but I have enjoyed seeing friends and fans from other cities posting the differing setlists from different stops. I love it when artists rotate setlists and consider what the fans want to hear, and QOC have proven to be very good at that. I do think this was my personal ideal version of the setlist out of what I've seen them play so far on tour just because "Dead" and "Hollywood Baby" have remained my favorites, but I am excited to see how they continue to switch it up for the rest of the tour.

Their energy and stage presence have only gotten stronger in the past few months. This show was sold out, and I believe their two stops after Philly were sold out too. I think one of the best times to start getting into a band is when they're in the earlier stages of really headlining shows and touring with their actively expanding discography, and that is exactly where QOC are right now in their careers. The band is only getting bigger and they should be. Their newest album is still one of my favorite releases of the year so far, and I don't see it being topped by anything else anytime soon. Seeing them live would be enjoyable for anyone: fans of theirs, fans of rock music, fans of live music, or just anyone who likes having somewhere to go on a Saturday night. I would recommend bringing your earplugs along if you plan on being close to the stage and leaving with your hearing intact because, like any rock concert, it is loud from anywhere in the room. As it should be, I think!

I think this was my favorite set I've seen them play so far. We were really excited to see the newer releases now that they've been released (they played "Heaven Bound" at both of my other shows, too; I just didn't know the words then so it was fun to get to scream along this time around). I am so excited for the tour to continue! We are highly anticipating those Portraits Tour part two dates... and really hoping for several Texas stops to be included in the next run... so pretty please make that happen for us soon so I can be there <3 I'll bring all my friends along, I promise. Y'all rocked, as always, and I'll hopefully be seeing you again (in Texas, I'll mention that I want Texas dates one more time so you see that I'm saying that over and over again, the people have spoken and they want you in TEXAS) and hopefully it'll be pretty soon ;)

Thank you Quarters for another awesome show, thank you The Band Light for an awesome first show, thank you Elli and Alex for being my concert buddies, thank you Payne parents for letting Elli and Alex be my concert buddies, and thank you anyone else who read this far LOL I love you all <33 (Grammarly haaaates this sentence and IDC! Posting it anyway)!