Q102 Presents Dillon Francis x Yung Gravy
February 10th, 2022 - Franklin Music Hall
It’s always a pleasure volunteering for Headcount but sometimes you gotta be strategic and take initiative to get put on shows. With that in mind, I decided to volunteer for some artists I haven’t heard of before. As a bonus, I’ve always wanted to check out the Franklin Music Hall so I thought ‘why not’ when signing up for Dillon Francis.
Save the Vote! Headcount campaign pins. Rayne 2022
When I got to the venue (which was giving me industrial vibes), I quickly realized that Yung Gravy was opening. This was exciting as I know a couple of his songs. After learning this, I scoped out the venue which was essentially a centralized tin box with minimal sections. Because of this setup, we got to see the whole show from the lobby area while we registered people to vote and promoted the Headcount mission.
Dillon Francis. Rayne 2022
The rest of the night, we people watched from our stand. The demographic, or “assortment of beautiful people” to quote Gravy, was mostly younger. There were times when I felt like I was at a high school dance. The pre-show DJ played some throwbacks like Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” and club versions of One Directions’ “What Makes You Beautiful,” and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me,” which only encouraged the feeling. Although, There were a decent amount of at least 18-year old looking people and a quarter of those who were 21+ in the bar-only area. I felt old enough to complain about $11 for a slice of pizza but not old enough to be a MILF. I felt even more out of place as everyone was dressed in very colorful clothing-there were a TON of milf related tees and signs.
With the demographic and Yung Gravy’s set combined, I couldn’t help but think “this is what straight TikTok must be like.” This was emphasized when the crowd got a “fuck Ben Simmons” chant going encouraged by Yung Gravy’s DJ, DJ Tip.
Another vibe I was getting from Gravy’s set was grandma core. Many of his transitions along with media projected behind them contained oldie songs and movies clips including some from the Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz. He is definitely influenced by the women in his life as Gravy showed a lot of care for his fans in announcing that he will stop the show at any time to make sure everyone is safe. He especially showed care for the ‘ladies’ and future MILFS in training.
It was clear that Gravy was the star of the night from the way that over half of the crowd flooded the exits after his final song. For some reason, during this time the venue was playing straight smiths songs for a good fifteen minutes.
Then Dillon Francis abruptly came on. I stayed for a couple of his songs but I was truly not in the hype DJ set mood. I now regret not witnessing some Cake and Cognac live. Either way, I was excited to experience the venue along with Yung Gravy’s presence for the first time as well!
