Vlad Holiday: Nostalgic soundscapes at Riviera Theatre.
“The only thing you can do is follow your instinct. Which is a beautiful thing to have as a job.”
photo taken by Ece Tumer.
You might be (mis)fortunate enough to meet someone in real life, and, all of a sudden, every song is about them.
“I won’t love you forever.” The first line of Vlad Holiday’s opening set for Declan Mckenna at Riviera Theatre. Deep scarlet lights slowly panned the audience. Whether you are on the receiving end (I hope not!) or the giving end of such a statement, it undoubtedly cuts deep. This lyric encapsulates the tone of Holiday’s performance; intimate and introspective. The atmosphere was relaxed, and every word was an indulgence. This is true also for Holiday’s entire discography. Vintage Lo-Fi sounds characterize his work, presenting a nostalgic view of the human condition that explores themes of heartbreak and longing.
Holiday continued his performance combining singles and songs from his upcoming album, My Favorite Drug. Some of his tracks truly are a hopeless romantic’s fever dream. “Quit Playing Cool” and “Young and Stupid” transported me back to summer 2022. Freshly eighteen and released from academic prison (school), I went interrailing around Europe. I would pass the long train journeys with Cigarettes After Sex on repeat, trying to soothe my hangovers and shake off the viruses I had collected from every country like souvenirs. On a side note, I would recommend Vlad Holiday to anyone who likes Cigarettes after Sex—both are excellent for feeding into your delusions. Their music shares this moody yet mellow characteristic. Holiday achieves this effect by recording with vintage microphones and tape recorders. The resulting distortion of his voice adds a tantalizing distance between him and his listeners crucial to evoking a sense of longing in his songs. His voice becomes a multifaceted presence—a voice from your memories, a voice on the radio, one from a dream, or a blend of all these at once. He conjures a nostalgia for a life you never lived.
Nestled between two singles from his new album, Holiday performed “Artificial Paradise.” An icy blue light washed over the stage as the song began. This song softened the pace of the performance, making space for raw emotion to take center stage. “Artificial Paradise” delves into a profound yearning for connection—so intense that it compels one to embrace any love, even if it is fabricated. This love, however, comes at a cost: the sacrifice of one’s humanity. While the rest of Holiday’s performance was contemplative and introspective, this track stood out as forward-looking and conceptually daring. Could you truly fall in love with someone incapable of genuine emotion? Or even with an AI? These questions lingered in my mind as the performance drew to a close.
Holiday and his band stayed afterward to speak to fans right by the merch stand. I found this refreshing as it is easy to feel detached from the performance in such a grand venue. If you haven’t been to Riviera Theatre, let me describe it for you. The entrance is so classically American; the “Riviera” sign is a bright neon red. Below this, displayed in a backlit marquee are the names of the evening’s performers. Walking in, you’re welcomed by French Renaissance styled walls and ceilings, all lined with gold detailing and enhanced by decorative moldings. Four thousand miles across the pond and this theater still reminded me distinctly of London’s O2 Academy Brixton, where I first saw Declan McKenna in 2022.
From my conversation with Holiday, I was struck by his humility regarding his career and achievements.
In his own words, “I was 14 [when] I started touring……I was just shredding on the guitar. I’m glad that I didn’t get in front of people until I was in my 30s because it takes a lifetime to figure out your voice. And in more senses than actual voice.”
Vlad Holiday with Firebird staff member, Ece Tumer.
Ece Tumer: What helps?
Vlad Holiday: Time.
VH: It’s a constant thing. You get to a point, and you feel good, and then you don’t, and then you have to change your world up, and that’s ok. That’s the point. The only thing you can do is follow your instinct. Which is a beautiful thing to have as a job.
VH: I’m so lucky to be here. Truly. It gets tiring sometimes. But I do not forget how lucky I am to do this sometimes. It is insane. I’ve been getting punched in my face trying to do this for so long that I really do appreciate it.
Returning to “Artificial Paradise,” the song was written before AI became very mainstream, but could very well relate to the concept of a human falling in love with an AI. This inspired me to ask Holiday for his thoughts on using AI in music production itself.
VH: Art is about making people feel something, so it doesn’t really matter where it comes from.
ET: Do you think it’s your aim in your music, to make people feel something?
VH: Only thing that matters, only thing that matters. Well actually, it’s the second thing that matters. The first thing that is important is for me to feel something…It just makes sense of it all
ET: Does collaborating with artists give you that release still?
Holiday has collaborated with artists such as Cage The Elephant, co-writing “Neon Pill,” “Metaverse,” and “Over Your Shoulder.”
VH: It became that on an even more interesting level because I’ve been a fan of this dude and this band [Cage The Elephant] for so long and the fact that we met and we had already been aligned to the same things, and we liked the same movies…. It’s just cut like a cut from the same cloth; and it’s a beautiful thing. It’s kind of crazy, actually, to find a hero and to get there.
It was a conversation that left me inspired. It is rare to find an artist who is so openly appreciative of his life and the music industry. Within his songs and the way he approaches life, introspection truly is Holiday’s superpower.
Check out Holiday’s new album My Favorite Drug.
edited by Amishi Gupta.
photos taken by Ece Tumer / Firebird Magazine.