iDKHOW But I Went To A Concert
By: Samantha Roehl
My last concert, pre-pandemic, was in 2017. I’ve never been a fan of crowds or loud noises — yet, on a chilly day in February, I saw my third ever concert.
I found I Dont Know How But They Found Me (iDKHOW) in a roundabout way, first hearing a cover of their song “Nobody Likes the Opening Band'' by PeppermintOllie on YouTube in early 2018.
After that, I was hooked.
At the time, the band had a distinct ‘80s aesthetic. The music video for their single “Modern Day Cain” was a pseudo-found-footage performance that claimed to be “from the cable access series 'Superstar Showcase' (1983).” Their alternative style fell in line with the other bands I loved at the time. (Which made sense, especially because band members Dallon Weekes and Ryan Seaman were both ex-members of Panic! at the Disco.)
Four years later, the band had faded into memory like many of my high school obsessions. I only thought about them when my music shuffled to one of the songs from their 2018 EP, “1981 Extended Play.” I wasn’t even aware that their 2020 album, “RAZZMATAZZ,” existed.
That’s when my friend texted me asking if I’d like to go to the iDKHOW concert in Philly. Being me, I responded with an enthusiastic yes — and promptly forgot to buy tickets. Thankfully, the concert fell on Superbowl Sunday and I was able to buy a ticket from a friend-of-a-friend who would rather watch football than go to a concert. I still don’t really understand why someone would choose football over a concert, but I’m thankful for it.
Ticket secured, the next question was how I was going to get to Drexel and back. I didn’t want to take the subway after the concert, as I’m still a bit iffy about the Market-Frankford to Broad Street Line transfer on the best of days. (Suburban Station is terrifying and I will not be told otherwise.) Thankfully, another girl going to the concert was a Temple student with a car on campus, so she drove me there.
We dropped off our stuff at my friend’s apartment and headed to the Theater of the Living Arts on South Street. A minor subway mishap — in which a couple members of the group got onto a train that the rest of us missed — left us with only a few minutes to spare until the start of the show. However, after a brief walk, we arrived at the venue.
It was crowded and loud and a ton of fun. It was my first standing room concert and we were thankfully able to get a spot leaning against the wall that still had a decent view. The opening band, Superet, was pretty good. Then iDKHOW took to the stage, their acronym written in cursive neon lights behind them.
Dallon Weekes was great live, with a killer falsetto and a cutting sense of humor, even when the crowd wouldn’t follow basic directions. (Attention all drunk people: when an artist asks you to be quiet, that is not your cue to yell random shit!)
I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. Even with the absurd amount of PDA from the couple in front of me, there was something magical about screaming songs you love along with hundreds of other people.
After the concert, and a less adventurous subway ride back to Drexel, I got to spend some time with my friends. I stayed the night, and, in the morning, survived my transfer from Market-Frankford back to the Broad Street Line. I even got back to Temple before my 11 a.m. class.
Going to events again is weird. It was such a regular part of life, until it just… wasn’t. We were masked at the concert, of course, but in hindsight, it makes sense to be masked when surrounded by so many people, even in non-pandemic times.
Still, things aren’t back to normal. I’m afraid we’ll never get back the “normal” we had before. But as long as there is still music and friends and small venues filled with people and neon stage lights and the pulse of bass in my chest, I’ll take what I can get.