mxmtoon and grentperez join the Bittersweet Daze tour in Stanford
written by Sydney Ling
photographed by Sylvie Lam
Headliner Cavetown and openers grentperez, Ricky Montgomery, and mxmtoon brought the Bittersweet Daze tour to the largest and loudest crowd of 8K so far at Frost Amphitheater in Stanford last Sunday. The third show of sixteen stops, with eleven in the US, drew in fans from all over the Bay Area to populate the sunny lawn of the spacious venue. True to the artists’ messaging of queer pride, with every ticket sold, one dollar will be donated to Cavetown’s “This Is Home Project,” which funds foundations that serve LGBTQ+ youth in need.
As I stood in line before doors opened under the hot California sun, I started chatting with the Vietnamese American college student in front of me, who had just moved to the Bay Area from Boston two weeks ago. She was excited to see grentperez and mxmtoon the most, having already attended mxmtoon’s rising (the tour) Boston show last summer.
After we entered the venue, I spotted many familiar faces, including twins who graduated from my school last year and kids from art camp. I was sitting on the grassy steps when someone approached a couple next to me, asking to take a video of their outfits for her TikTok. Another attendee was handing out holographic stickers, with one already stuck on her own cheek. Such interactions capture the friendly, warm energy and sense of familiarity of the audience that day.
grentperez kicked off his set with his first official single “Confusing Girl,” an indie pop-rock track that encapsulated his relaxed nostalgic sound. With his sweet and smooth vocals backdropped by guitarist Timi Temple and drummer Joshua Ehlke and his bouncy movement, grentperez delivered an upbeat performance that set a dynamic tone for the rest of the evening.
In an interview a few hours before the show, grentperez expressed that he’s been navigating how to appeal to a wider audience on the Bittersweet Daze tour. He said, “With my shows, I know fully that they’re there directly for me, and I can control the crowd really [easily]. With this one, I kind of have to play in a different way– a little more strategic, more general.”
Despite such a challenge, grentperez connected with concertgoers by exhibiting his charming, easygoing personality in between songs. He taught the audience “Mahal kita,” which means “I love you,” in Tagalog, a reference to his Filipino heritage. During “Stuck On You,” grentperez pretended to flex his muscles while guitarist Timi Temple played grentperez’s guitar from behind.
grentperez stated that he enjoys “just messing around with the audience.” During his “i’m cool, i promise” world tour earlier in the year, he played in various countries where a form of barrier existed in that fans were unsure of how to react or if they could be rowdy. grentperez said that he’d remind them to “Hey, by the way, feel free to be yourself. If you want to dance, feel free.”
Despite the existing enthusiasm of the Bittersweet Daze crowd, grentperez continued to maintain the same inviting spirit. During the playfully tongue-in-cheek “Ego,” which grentperez said was the song he was most excited to perform, he told his fans to “party” during the chorus. At one point, he asked the audience to split and form a mosh pit. Addressing the number of pride flags dotting the sea of people, he said, “I see some of you with flags. Feel free to hold them up. Don’t hesitate to be yourself.”
grentperez wrapped up his set with his most well-known song, the swoon-worthy, hopeless romantic “Cherry Wine.” He asked the crowd to show off their moves and mimicked the ending trumpet with mouth trumpet. At the end of his performance, grentperez and his tour photographer Christian Waite tossed copies of the setlist into the sea of screaming fans.
In between sets, some attendees took photos next to a large inflatable lemon and two inflatable clementines set up near artist merch tents, or laid down on blankets on the grass. Many concertgoers wore glittery makeup with sharp eyeliner looks, Starface acne stickers, and crochet cat hats on top of vibrantly dyed hair.
Ricky Montgomery started his set with the heartfelt “Talk to You,” which his bandmates kicked off with a synth-backed intro that swelled as Montgomery appeared. From hitting the drum set’s cymbals with his own drumsticks to jumping off the platform and high-fiving his fans, Montgomery demonstrated his lively engagement with the audience. At one point, he informed the crowd that he needed to say something deep and darkly personal, then proceeded to plug his merchandise and yelled that music was a side job. Montgomery played three newer singles including his latest track, the gut-wrenching “Black Fins,” while also performing fan favorites such as “Line Without a Hook” and the final song “Mr. Loverman,” demonstrating his capacity for a stage presence ranging from both dramatically energetic to intimately poignant.
After Montgomery’s set, I met some of the photographers who were shooting the night along with Rice & Spice’s photographer, Sylvie Lam. We talked about upcoming concerts in the Bay Area such as Laufey, and people’s past experiences with covering shows. During our conversation, grentperez came down from the side of the venue as screaming fans rushed towards him, and he took photos with a few of them.
As the sun began to set, mxmtoon bounded onto the stage filled with yellow lights and hazy fog as the airy sound of her band crescendoed for her song “fever dream.” Skipping around the stage and waving her arms, mxmtoon embodied a radiant joy that was infectious to the audience. She revealed that the night was special to her because it was the Oakland native’s hometown show, then proceeded to say, “I’m excited to sing some happy-sounding sad songs to you.”
Before performing “no faker,” she asked the crowd, “Are there any gay people here? It was looking a little bit like a pride parade out there,” to which people responded with cheers. She said that she wrote the track in 2020 to remind herself that she deserved time, space, and love, which she wished for the audience as well. From playing an acoustic set of her older songs with her signature ukulele including the popular “feelings are fatal” and “prom dress,” to closing with “mona lisa,” mxmtoon created a sparkling, jubilant presence with her bubbly personality as she spun, whirled, and fist pumped, wrapped in multi-colored lights and misty haze.
The sky was starting to turn dark by the time Cavetown began his set, with white cave-like cutouts propped along the stage as part of the set design. Beginning with “worm food” in an explosion of colorful light, Cavetown bounced and moved around on stage as the ears of their bunny hat flopped on their back. Most memorable was his performance of “Lemon Boy,” with the lights changing from yellow to blue, to yellow again as the narrative of the song progressed, ending with an electrifying outro. Before performing “Pigeon,” Cavetown told the crowd, “Continue being yourself, you’re doing so good,” a friendly reminder to an audience with many middle schoolers whose parents had accompanied them to their first-ever concert.
