Singer-songwriter Tim Atlas performed at the Moroccan Lounge in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, September 30 for his fall tour’s penultimate show. His set included music ranging from his recent EP “Le Soir” to past music from his discography.
Atlas’ tour covered 11 shows across the country with Pink Skies as his opener in addition to Royaljag as an opener for this night’s show. He toured across the country, including in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Dallas.
Throughout the night, Atlas shone vibrantly as he swayed to the medley of the songs with his band. His charisma was recognized by the crowd during the show, especially by fans who waited excitedly for his performance.
Before one of his songs, Atlas acknowledged how great it feels to perform many of the songs where they began.
“I wrote a lot of these songs in L.A., most of them,” he said on stage.
Atlas used to live in L.A. before moving to his current residence in New York. There, he had the opportunity to collaborate with many artists. In one highlight from the event, he introduced one of those artists to the stage: singer-songwriter Vel Dalle. Dalle took center stage for a song while Atlas and his band backed the singer with their instruments. They performed a melody with a rich tone and a slow synth beat.
Concertgoers Mariel Sully, Michaela Rodriguez and Daniel Sully attended the concert and were eager to see him live, as this was their first time doing so.
Ahead of the concert, Daniel Sully said that he was looking forward to seeing some of Atlas’ latest work brought to life on stage.
“I’m excited to hear stuff from the new EP,” Daniel Sully said. “I really like the song ‘Attractive’ a lot. I think out of all of them that was my favorite, so I’m hoping he sings it tonight.”
To Mariel Sully, one of the things she enjoys from Atlas’ music is its summery feel.
“When his music is playing and we’re listening to it, it has good vibes,” Mariel Sully said. “It makes me feel chill and good overall.”
But beyond just his music, Atlas represents far more to some listeners. As a Filipino artist, Atlas is able to use his platform to reach people who also come from a Filipino background, including these three fans. Mariel Sully said that she enjoys the intimacy of Atlas’ work compared to more mainstream artists.
“I think it’s awesome. The representation is amazing because you don’t see too many big artists like that,” Mariel said. “It inspires others to do this kind of thing.”
Rodriguez echoes this, saying it is also inspiring to see that it is possible for a Filipino artist to pursue a creative field.
“I think definitely because we’re Filipino, we can be a little biased, but at the same time it’s really cool to see his real talent,” Daniel Sully said. “So seeing him up on stage at a venue, selling out shows like tonight is really cool.”
According to Mariel Sully, this representation in music is important because it reaches people in unique ways. She says that music can make people feel things and bring them together, something Filipino culture is all about.
Mariel Sully elaborates that there is something special about seeing a favorite artist in their element and watching it all come together.
Atlas shook the room with the smooth rhythms from his guitar as the vocals he poured out. During the latter half of the show, Atlas’ band started to play the instrumental to one of his most popular songs “Courtside.” In that moment, the crowd fawned at the familiar tune as he began to sing the first few lines of the song.
After the first chorus, he hopped off the stage and joined the crowd. He soaked up the passion of the room for a moment more before leaping back up to his band.
As he chimed through each song, Atlas kept his energy strong. The audience gleefully watched as they sang along and bobbed to his melodies. His performance on the last night of September served as a love letter to the past month.
The last show of his tour was on Friday, October 6 in San Francisco.