Show Review: Tennis
Let’s just take a moment to start off this review acknowledging how absolutely amazing both Alaina Moore’s (one half of the husband-wife duo) voice and hair is. Although Tennis’ music is marked by Alaina’s dreamy, soft voice; her delicate voice did not stop her from filling The Roxy with intensity coming from behind her voice. The strength of her voice echoed throughout the room while she softly swayed around the stage. Not to discount from her fantastic vocal skills, but Alaina has got some AWESOME hair as well. Nothing was more empowering than watching this phenomenal woman sing on stage about being a modern woman while she was rocking her all natural curls. I couldn’t help but feel such an intimate connection with Alaina (I have some wild curls too).
In fact, intimacy carried the entire show. Tennis successfully made the show feel like a casual Friday night out just hanging out with them at The Roxy. One of the best moments during the show was when Alaina proudly sang the lines “You know I love a good ceremony, That’s why I chose matrimony” from their song “Bad Girls”, while starring deeply into her husband’s eyes as he played the guitar. That short moment felt so pure and genuine. Everyone in the crowd simultaneously let out a big “Aw” and all of us couldn’t help but feel like we were experiencing the same love as them through the irresistible melody of their music.
Their show peaked when the husband-wife duo performed their new single “Modern Woman” off of their forthcoming album, Yours Conditionally, due March 10th. An empowering and somewhat satirical ballad that speaks about modern day feminism, tennis’ performance of “Modern Woman” captured every part of my body. As she sang about an estranged relationship and what a modern woman is, she grabbed her mic and walked to the front of the stage demanding the attention from the entire audience. Her words carried so much vulnerability but her attitude and composure asserted her strong self-awareness proclaiming she herself is a “Modern Woman”.
All in all, Tennis somehow made what I thought would be just a good, normal Friday night show feel like the most intimate encounter I have had with live music.
OLIVIA OSBORNE, DJ
BEATZ GENERATION, SUNDAYS 12-1PM
(Photos from BuzzBands.LA)