“You Might Even Like it A Little Bit” - A Night With The Dare
Show Review via Nash Jones - @_nash_jones
“The song starts now— the song— the song starts—“
This phrase would repeat from DJ Avalon’s soundboard a few times before the beat kicked in. The energy in the Hi Dive was palpable, everyone ready for a night of fun and dancing. Avalon, who was supporting The Dare’s headlining tour, took to the stage first. She wore sunglasses, a sheer white dress, pointed black heels, with a black scarf around her neck, and another in her hands. She studied the soundboard with concentration and would step away and dance, tossing her shaggy blond hair and mouthing along to the lyrics, transitioning seamlessly between popular Rhianna, Nicki Minaj, and Ayesha Erotica tracks, with “Vroom Vroom” by Charli xcx also making an appearance, as well as the hit, “Girls” by the next act of the night. The beat faded into the song that had been playing previously, the pitched-up line “girls with dicks” then repeating several times, before simply cutting the rest of the line out, the word “dicks” reverberating through the venue for about half a minute.
Sirens, high-toned drums, and floor-shaking bass drops kept up the energy. Avalon had made her way through the crowd earlier up to the stage, “excuse me guys!” but throughout her set, she commanded the crowd without a word. Smiling, she’d give a pointed stare to the audience as we waited for the beat of the next song to drop, and she’d cheekily look over the soundboard to make it happen. She greeted and departed with simple waves of “hi” and “bye,” the audience erupting into cheers both times.
Avalon live at the Hi Dive
The Dare, the artistic persona of Harrison Smith, would make his way through the side of the crowd up to the stage next, led by a photographer. He was dressed in his well-known style of a three-piece black and white suit, shiny black dress shoes, and dark sunglasses. He was asked the ever-important question, “gay son or thot daughter?” as he walked through, and while i didn’t hear the answer, the audience seemed pleased with it.
The stage was set up with two soundboards, which he stepped to and from and built up a beat, the fluorescent panel lights beaming down and the excitement growing. He greeted the crowd with a reserved “Hello,” before starting the set with the album opener, the titillating, “Open Up.” This was followed by “Good Time,” originally released on the debut four-song 2023 EP titled “Sex,” and placed as the second track on the album “What’s Wrong with New York?”
The chorus is as raunchy as it is catchy, with the lines “touch me/ then say you need me/ fuck me/ like we were meant to be/ girl, I’ve got no money/ you’ve got no money/ we’ve got a good time.” During the song, he would crouch down and grab his drink, tossing some of it onto the audience. The vibe of the song is very 2010s, when you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing a song about going out tonight, having fun tonight, “yeah, we might be broke, but let’s not think about that tonight.”
While I can connect that particular song to club pop of the past decade or so, Smith often discusses being particularly influenced by the aughts, an era that yours truly was unfortunately hardly sentient during. He is typically referred to as “indie sleaze revivalist,” a juxtaposition of the pressed suit and tie to the lines about having sex in a fancy car, or staying out all night and crashing on one-another’s couches. The clash of the music and the outfit is an image of smoking marlboro blues outside of a show, one tucked behind the ear, tie loosened and around the back of the neck, and sunglasses pushed up on the forehead.
The Dare live at the Hi Dive
Following “Good Time” were the songs “Sex,” and “Perfume.” “Perfume” is arguably his most accessible track, while a bit brazen, as is quite a lot of his music. The song itself contains buzzing bass, a funky guitar riff underlying most of the song, intermittent synth trills, with carefree lyrics about loving this new method of self-expression he’s discovered. While the song is also sexual, it’s in the context of that badass feeling that comes from finding something that clicks with you, making you happier and more confident, a relatable concept for many. With lines such as, “When I put it on myself, everybody agrees/ A certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ starts coming for me/ It’s a little bit different but I don’t know why/ They say it’s only for girls, but they’re too scared to try,” along with the loud, untroubled shout of, “that’s my perfume!” the song makes for a fun and fulfilling listen, which translates wonderfully over to a live setting. The track’s drums contain a lot of crash cymbals, and there was one as part of the stage setup, which Smith hoisted over his head and lifted his arm to play, smiling widely, before setting it back down.
After going through several tracks from his album, he announced he was going to perform a cover. The song was the originally acoustic-guitar driven, post-punk song, “I Can’t Escape Myself” by The Sound, which he put his own style to, and which most of the audience, including myself, didn’t seem to know. “That one was just for me,” he admitted,— nothing wrong with a little self-indulgence— and followed it up with several unreleased tracks, including “Cheeky,” with the lyric “the 27 club is legendary, but I'm just not that kind of guy.” “It’ll come out at some point,” he told the audience. A second unreleased track, “Lights, Camera, Action,” was played afterward.
He made his way through most of his small catalogue, including the electronic piece “Bloodwork” from the “Sex” EP, the only song in which the stage was washed with red lights as opposed to light blue and white fluorescent. He worked meticulously back and forth between the two soundboards and on a laptop, the mic, being unused, resting on the back of his shoulder. During the song, he included an interpolation of the smash hit remix “Guess” by Charli XCX feat Billie Eilish, which he produced.
After the better part of an hour, he sang his album closer, “You Can Never Go Home,” a slower synth-pop track with a great buildup into the outro containing lines like, “I watch your life crash into me/ Take the ribbons out of your stereo/ Just know you’re not alone” before fading out and ending on a simple piano riff. At this point, he had played almost all of his songs, save for “All Night,” “Movement,” and “Girls.”
“That’s normally where I would end,” he told us, “but there are a few songs I haven't done yet.” He asked the audience to “Just pretend I've left the stage, and maybe you’re kind of disappointed,” as a sort of makeshift encore. The crowd obliged with groans and a few boos, before he announced that he was now “back,” and jumped right into the first of the last three songs.
Despite the cocky persona of The Dare, Smith seemed somewhat bashful at times. He ended on his most popular tune, “Girls,” tossing back the lapels of his suit jacket and kicking his legs as he sang the lines, “I like girls who got a bone to pick with me/ i like the girls that do drugs/ girls with cigarettes in the back of the club.” The majority of the audience chanted along, ending the song enthusiastically with the response, “That’s what’s up!” Smith widely grinned, telling the crowd, “Thank you so much!” Then asking to make a pathway for him to exit the stage. The crowd had definitely grown tighter throughout the show in excitement to be as close as possible.
While Smith is vastly inspired by the 2000s, his music is fresh and innovative. He clearly has a firm grasp on who he wants “The Dare” to be, developing a clear image with his stage mannerisms, his outfits, and his show’s production.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this show going into it, as I’d never been to a gig with his style of music. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, though, and would definitely suggest attending, whether you’re a fan of electronic, club music, or simply love good live music. After all… You’re Invited.
