Carly Cosgrove stopped by Milwaukee on August 2 for another sold-out show, but this time in a different setting. Their first time was this past March for the first ever Burn Bright MKE Fest (two-day festival) at the X-Ray Arcade in Cudahy. Thanks to their talent buyer, JJ, he bought them back. If you don’t know JJ, you should. He works with several different venues in the Milwaukee area and hosts shows in his very own basement known as JJ’s Bar & Grill. Spoiler, it’s just a basement show, bring your own water and leave the alcohol or drugs at home.
Anyways, Carly Cosgrove explained to us at the show that they had crashed in the basement that weekend and saw the whole setup. They thought it was so rad, they needed to come back and play a gig there. That’s what they did. Now, before I dive into their performance, let’s discuss the openers. The whole night was a stacked bill, 100%. All three openers were local to the area and knew how to get the crowd warmed up. I’ve seen them all so I definitely was ready. In fact, two of them I had seen in that very basement before!
The night kicked off with Doubter. Doubter started off a little late but they made sure it was worth the while. In fact, they even treated us to a special new song that they ended up dedicated to my husband who was there with me. “The next one’s for Tylerrrrrr,” he sang into the mic before jumping right into it. He made sure to ask for the opinions afterwards and everyone (including Tyler) were satisfied. So you’ll definitely need to make sure to be on the lookout for it, coming soon hopefully!
Up next, Clementine. So, I’m pretty sure they’re local but their Instagram also says Rockford, IL, so I kind of don’t know the deal with that haha. Anyways, they had some fangirls up front that were dancing wildly along. The rest of the crowd was also vibing. The room was getting more full as the night continued on.
The last opener was Excuse Me, Who Are You? otherwise known as EMWAY? Yes, you’re reading that correctly. Kyle, the lead man, got that pit opened and the room got to a sweatier level. The entire general area in front of the “stage” was one big ‘ol mosh pit. So you’ll probably notice in the photos that none of the photos are from straight on. I just got new lenses and I wasn’t about to put them in a potentially damaging situation that soon. I definitely got some great drummer photos which is not something I’m used to. This band knows how to get the room jumping. They had various members of Tiny Voices (another local band) and friends take the mic for some impromptu features and jumped into the circle themselves. At long last, everyone was going to be ready.
Finally, Carly Cosgrove took the room over. Everyone was singing along to their songs, they played new ones and old ones, and the whole crowd knew them all. It touched their hearts. They couldn’t believe that their second time in this city, sold out both times. They played a killer set and left no crumbs. They have a few dates left on the tour and I’m sure they’ll be back. Definitely make sure to catch them when you get the chance. Shout-out to JJ for being so cool.
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