After a couple long years off the road, Nashville indie-poppers Arlie launched their six-date crashing down tour in Birmingham, AL in the Upstairs at Avondale to support the impending release of their single “crashing down”. The sold-out venue was on fire with energy for the band’s return; announced only a week prior with the rest of the band’s tour dates, the show saw the band’s return to Birmingham after similarly sold-out sets supporting Mt. Joy and COIN, except this time, it was their own room to headline.
The night began with local act Zoo Culture taking the stage. The four-piece has gained quick fame off of their upbeat singles “Sundress” and “Daisy”, and in this slot supporting Arlie, they proved that they can hold their weight among other acts in the indie-pop world. Playing a thirty-minute set that touched on most of their 2019 EP Moonflower, this set proved that the up-and-comers of Zoo Culture should be paid close attention to — it wouldn’t be surprising to see them sell out these rooms someday.
After a brief intermission, Arlie took the stage to a raucous fanfare and immediately opened with one of their biggest hits, “big fat mouth.” From there, it was a rapid-fire blitz through songs both old and new — the old, beloved tracks of the wait EP meshed perfectly with the new, punky bounce of “karma” and “wait a minute”, and the band looked absolutely thrilled to be on stage again. Lead singer Nathaniel Banks addressed some of the absurdities of the night to the crowd; not only was this their first gig in a little over two years due to the band’s brief hiatus, but they were also having to play as a trio due to two members’ COVID exposure immediately preceding the tour. However, you couldn’t tell they were missing anything; the band sounded full and fun, with highlights like “water damage” launching the crowd into a frenzy. After a Christmas song medley set to the tune of “Come As You Are” by Nirvana, the band shockingly led into the unreleased “titanic” — a long-time Soundcloud favorite of fans that, if recorded, will be an inescapable anthem on the radio waves. It felt as if the walls of Avondale were coming down as the song built into a momentous crescendo with Banks and co. screaming “we’re still young” at the top of their lungs, absolutely ignoring the years that we’ve lost due to COVID-19. Concluding with their hit “didya think” that’s slowly permeated every Spotify alt-rock playlist known to humanity, the band left the crowd wanting more — and hopefully, more will be coming soon.
