Cherub and Gibbz Threw Jonothan a Birthday Party : A Review of the Baby Angels Tour at First Ave on 11/23/19

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“Wherever you are Jonathan – Happy freaking birthday… I don’t know. I don’t trust it, but I heard there was a birthday in the house and if there are any other birthdays here tonight – happy Freaking birthday”

It was a little over 3 quarters of the way through the Baby Angels Tour’s visit to First Avenue when the lead singer of Cherub (Jordan Kelley) took a moment to acknowledge our birthday boy, John. We still have no idea what Jonathan’s last name is – Sorry man – or if he was even real, regardless, Cherub took the time to cheers this guy before closing their show out and that is one hell of a gift on top of the performance they gave us that night. Most of us know Cherub for their hit “Doses and Mimosas” but if we let our fandom end there, all are doing is cutting ourselves short – these guys are legit. 

Before I even dive into the main act just mentioned, we need to discuss the powerful act found in Gibbz. Gibbz opened up for us that night at First Ave and by the time he left the stage, anyone who didn’t know him already will surely never forget. His music struck me as a hybrid between late 2000s Bon Iver and Sam Smith. On top of his sexy musical flow and boombastic jams, his high vocal range was not hidden from us as he belted high notes in such a smooth and overwhelmingly stunning way, nearly shaking the glass of the tech booth at times. Gibbz is nothing short of a music man; on top of his stunning vocals and backing-tracks this guy came out with a guitar, microphone, laptop for live mixing, and sound board – it was out of a movie. To make it all the better, his spectacular sense of humor came out several times, at one point asking the audience “you mind if I play a f*** song? I’m feeling very sexy” and then closing out his act with “you can find me on LinkedIn and LinkedIn only.” I tried finding him because I am a LinkedIn fiend… I couldn’t find him, but if you’re reading this Gibbz – I’ll endorse your skills if you endorse mine! 

Gibbz thanked us again and left the stage to make room for Cherub. Now, I’ll be frank – besides their already mentioned top-hit, I have barely listened to these guys, but after this performance I have not stopped asking Google to open spotify and play their music on shuffle (yes, Google; I am not one of those Apple people and yes my texts are green in groupchats).Cherub came out in a curious fashion for a group known for club music – with dual guitars. Little did we realize these guys knew how to rock as much as they knew how to fistbump. 

Jordan Kelley gets a lot of recognition for his outstanding vocals, crowd interactions, and hair flipping, but I really want to take a moment to highlight Huber and his insane talent. Not only does this guy pluck strings, but most of the night he was running the soundboard/synthesizers, drums, as well as providing some vocals too – in my notes I wrote down a thought of him being like an alchemist with sound, mixing and concocting music like an EDM Beethoven. Jordan and Jason overall complemented each other impeccably, though, and I wouldn’t dare rate one more important or more impressive than the other – they are a duo for a reason. 

The humor was a constant in the main act as it was with the opening via Gibbz. At one point before a piece was performed, Kelly broke out how “that last song was about love… this next song is all about some good ol’ fashioned-” fornicating. I dubbed the last word there for the sake of this publication being accessible to all ages – you get the point! I hope. 

It’s nearly impossible to narrow down the best moments of this night as Cherub managed to keep impressing us over and over again with hits like “strawberry” and “so what,” all the way up to their finale with – yep, you guessed it – “doses and mimosas.” The entire crowd sang along and First Avenue itself almost broke. It was nothing short of jaw-droppingly awesome. 

This was the 5th time the duo and Gibbz had played at the main room in First Avenue, and after that fact was dropped, Cherub explained how grateful they were for us coming out and even expressed love to the audience. They went to the lenghts of inviting the audience to the local club Gay 90s to have drinks and watch Gibbz get on a stripper pole (supposedly he did that the night before). If only I had enough energy after the show to have gone. 

The next time these guys come back, I beg you all to join us. It was nothing short of a house party on steroids and that’s a vibe I have yet to experience at any other show with any other artist- maybe this will be the only time, but only time will tell.

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