On March 17th, iconically on a Monday — it was time for almost monday to take over the OZ stage at Melkweg in Amsterdam. After touring all over Europe with THE DRIVER ERA back in September and October, both the old and new fans did not have to wait too long for the band to come back. The tour was focused on the band’s most recent album: Dive, which was released last September and got a deluxe version in January. almost monday offered VIP packages on this tour including a USB stick with unreleased music, pre-show and meet & greet with the band and a VIP laminate. The band took the time to meet every fan and chat with them resulting in doors opening a few minutes later than scheduled.
On this tour almost monday was accompanied by little image from Dallas, Texas. The three piece band consists of bassist/keyboardist Brandon Walters, drummer Troy Bruner and guitarist and vocalist Jack Simmons. Just half an hour after doors opened the band took to the stage, ready to warm up the crowd. The third song on their setlist was an unreleased one titled “NOVOCAINE” and from the reaction of the crowd I’m sure many people can’t wait for it to get released so they can listen to it on repeat.
During “HOME” Simmons and Bruner decided to switch it up, Simmons taking a seat behind the drum kit and Bruner giving some smaller drums to some fans in the front row. He then started drumming to the song while the fans were holding up his kit. After all the high energy it was time to slow it down a bit. “I wrote this song about my favorite person on the planet, she’s back home and I miss her a ton” is how Simmons introduced the song “MAKEUP.” Simmons got an acoustic guitar and Bruner stepped away from the drums to go to the keyboard. For this song the crowd lit up with phone lights, gaining some bright smiles from the band. The band really showed off their talents during their short 30 minute set, with all of them playing multiple instruments.
At 9PM the lights dimmed down again and the introductory track “dive” started playing through the speakers. One thing that almost monday’s music does is bring you straight into the summer mood. All their songs just give off warmth and long sunny days by the beach, which makes sense since the band is from the sunny San Diego in California. It was a big contrast with the cold Dutch weather and the band was probably also feeling a bit cold, coming onto the stage wearing jackets, turtlenecks and warm hats. Luckily for all of us the venue had great air conditioning, so neither the band or the fans were overheating from all the dancing.
The three piece consisting of guitarist Cole Clisby, bassist Luke Farby, guitarist and vocalist Dawson Daugherty are accompanied by touring drummer Rafael Vidal. They started their set with “is it too late?” which immediately got the crowd dancing and singing along. While the energy from the whole band is radiating off the stage, Daugherty’s stage presence is on another level. You can see how comfortable he is on that stage, showing off all the dance moves he’s got and just having the best time ever.
“I’m just going to say it, but this is definitely my favorite show of the tour. And no, I don’t just say it at every show, but I really feel that way right now, so thank you Amsterdam” — after which the band covered “Maps” (originally by Yeah Yeah Yeahs). A few people in the crowd were doing the TikTok dance that has gone viral with it, resulting in some laughs from Daugherty.
Before they delved into the next song, Daugherty told the crowd it was an unreleased song titled “lost.” They were actually filming the music video for it in Amsterdam during the day, which included hiring a boat and jumping off a bridge into said boat. During the song their videographer was also filming, so we might be able to spot ourselves when the music video comes out!
The setlist was filled with hit after hit, treating the fans to “you look so good,” “she likes sports,” and “sunburn” all back to back. The band stepped off stage for a second, before returning for the last song of the evening: “life goes by.” At the end of the song Daugherty crowd surfed, getting even closer to the fans who have been singing and dancing along all night.
The tour goes on until March 29th ending in Dublin, Ireland. If you can’t wait for summer and need to get away from the winter depression for an evening, going to an almost monday show is definitely a great remedy. You can find all the remaining dates and tickets here. (https://almostmonday.com/live)
GALLERY: almost monday and little image at Melkweg in Amsterdam, Netherlands (March 17, 2025)
