Zach Benson Concert Review & Countdown
When it comes to gay pop, a lot of the discoveries I have made have been through social media. Ever since joining Twitter and later Instagram, I have not only connected with Queer Pop musicians and fans, but those musicians and fans have introduced me to even more Queer pop stars. Case in point is Zach Benson. I actually discovered Zach due to discovering another gay pop star by the name of Yavin. Yavin is someone who came to my attention through Twitter and The Q Review. Other gay pop stars I followed were interacting him such as Michael Medrano, Davy Boi and Kisos. Yavin was also in the Q Review's top 22 chart for several weeks with Good Fun. I finally listened to his music and was impressed. I started talking with Yavin as a result and he eventually recommended Zach Benson to me during one of our Instagram chats, since I live in the D.C. area which is where Zach lived as well, though he was moving to New York City soon.
It didn't take long for me to start listening to Zach's music and I followed him on all the social media platforms. Eventually I responded to one of his Insta Stories, which showcased his brand-new Scream shirt based on the 1996 slasher film, which is one of my favorite films of all time. I complimented the shirt and told him I love that film and before you know it, we were now talking on social media. I asked him if he had any upcoming gigs in the D.C. area coming up and he said that he did have one more planned before he moved to New York City and the best part was that it was a free show!
I invited my good friend Will to tag along since he loves music as much as I do and he couldn't say no to free concert either. The show was to be held at a place I had never been to before called The Epicure Cafe in Fairfax Virginia and it started at 7pm. I ended up driving into work that day instead of taking the subway since I wanted to drive straight to the show after work. Long story short, traffic was a hot mess! Getting from work to the show took a solid 90 minutes. For those who drive in and out of the city every day, especially from Virginia, you have my deepest sympathies.
Finally, I arrived right at 7pm and my friend Will had gotten there a little before me. So, we walked in and as soon as I opened the door there was Zach sitting at a table right in front of the door. We recognized each other quickly and hugged each other. Zach then complimented my Kim Petras shirt, because he is obsessed with Kim like all good gays are at the moment. I also learned that he was the at the same Troye Sivan and Kim Petras concert that I attended last year at The Anthem.
Eventually the 2 openers went on stage, but in between sets Zach was playing all the gay bops off his playlist such as Miss Benny, MUNA, Slayyter and 2 of my personal favorites Jesse Saint John's MOVE and Michael Medrano's Fluids. I shouted out during MOVE and Fluids that those were bops! Zach told me he had just discovered those 2 acts and I told him that he needed to check out their other music ASAP. I also sent him the links to other New York based gay pop stars such as Gregory Dillon, Kisos and Vardaan Arora, since he was moving there soon.
Eventually Zach took the stage and he was a one-man band! He set up his keyboards and synths and then he performed a lively and energetic set that saw him sing, dance, play the keyboard and more. It was another reminder of how multi-talented this current crop of Queer pop stars are because they are doing it all by themselves. Zach does all the singing, writing, producing, arranging and performing of his own material. Zach encouraged the audience to sing along, which included one guy trying to out song Zach, which reminded me of a similar occurrence at the MNEK show I had attended earlier that year. Zack then did a cover of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream which got everybody singing along. Zach also unveiled his 2 new songs, which were due to come out 2 days later, with Kitchen and Everything Reminds Me of U. My friend Will loved Kitchen and I loved Everything Reminds Me of U.
Towards the end of the show Zach told everyone how much he appreciated their love and support for his music and being able to play live these last 2 years in the D.C. area. He said the audience at his shows is what gave him more confidence as both a performer and as a gay man. Zach said when he started performing live initially, he would whisper under his breathe that his songs were about "boys," but now he shouts it with confidence that his songs are about "BOYS!" This once again reconfirmed my theory that Queer pop is a two-way street of empowerment where both the musicians and the fans empower each other to be as openly Queer as possible, especially in a live setting.
After the show I told him what a great time we had and he thanked us for coming and was very sweet. I bought a few buttons from him to go with my Myylo Button because Dougystyle is all about gay pop merch! We took a picture together that is now hanging up in my office and everyone who sees it thinks we are now brothers lol. I just tell them we are gay brothers in arms. I posted videos and photos of the show as soon as I got home and Zach responded thanking us again for coming out to see him perform.
While it's kind of sad that the moment I discovered a local gay pop star, he ended up moving away, I think going to New York City is going to be a big boost for Zach's career. On top of meeting all the other gay pop stars who live there and networking, there is a stronger live music scene with more diversity in my opinion. Still next time Zach comes back to the D.C. area I will be the first to see him and I will be wearing my Zach Benson button in pride.
For those who want to sample some of Zach's best music here is a quick survey of my 5 favorite songs by him thus far. I expect this list to grow larger as time goes on since Zach seems to be getting better and better which each song he releases.
05. Kissing as the Cars Go By
Early Zach Benson is very atmospheric and calming. In fact, Kissing as the Cars Go By really reminds me of Chillwave, a sub-genre from the late ‘00s/early ‘10s that I keep bringing up only because it seems to have had a major influence on this current crop of gay pop stars. The song is as romantic as it is relaxing and it's filled with very vivid imagery. The song captures one of those endless summers during your youth where you just laid on the grass for hours on end and maybe kissed a boy to pass the time.
04. Kitchen
While Zach has never been coy in his songs about how much he likes boys, Kitchen is probably the most explicit Zach has ever gotten so far. Here Zach describes a romantic encounter with another boy in a kitchen (I'm not sure if it's Zach's kitchen or the boy's but it doesn't matter.) Zach wants the other boy to take the lead this time, which is a good example of how there is a lot more give and take and reversal of roles within Queer relationships compared to straight ones. Zach says the keyboards on Kitchen are very inspired by 80s Whitney Houston, which I can definitely hear.
03. Best Friend's Basement
Before seeing Zach live this was the song that grabbed me the most. It has production that is a little more inventive than what came before though there are still slight traces of Chillwave here. One of Zach's greatest strengths is how his lyrics really tell a story. This song details Zach hanging out with his best friend and wanting to tell them him that he wants more, but Zach is afraid to make the first move because he not only fears rejection, but he would also be admitting he was gay as well. It's easy to put yourself in Zach's place throughout Best Friend's Basement and feel his mix of anxiety and the rush of giving in to your temptation.
02. Hang Up!
Hang Up is when Zach starts to leave behind the atmospheric Chillwave and starts making bops. It's not a full-on bop mind you, more of a mid-tempo bop, but it is catchy and that beat sure is fun to dance along to. The song itself deals with Zach telling another boy that he is not his play thing or boy toy. This other boy only wants sex with Zach when he is lonely and drunk and Zach is not putting up with that. Zach tells the boy he's not his booty call and in concert this moment is a call to arms as Zach encourages the audience to shout along with him "I'm not your booty call." It's a self-empowering Queer bop about not settling for less when it comes to sex and other boy's affections.
01. Everything Reminds Me of You
Zach was always good, but Everything Reminds Me of U is the moment he becomes GREAT! This is a bop and a half and as soon as I heard it live, I loved it by the time the first chorus rolled around. Here Zach dives deep into dance music, especially early 90s club beats and house piano. Zach told me at the show that the sound and production of Everything Reminds Me 0f U was inspired by Slayyyter's Mine, which had been released earlier this year but is also deeply influenced by early 90s dance music. In fact, Zach played Mine between sets and you can hear the influence even if both songs have very different vibes and melodies. It's funny how the early 90s is back in "Vogue" again and maybe that's because it's all new and fresh to these younger artists since most them were not even alive during the early 90s. On Twitter Zach said he is so proud of the last minute of Everything Reminds Me of U where he has the piano, beats and keyboard solo go into overdrive. Zach says it's his best moment yet as a producer and song arranger and he is not wrong, because that last minute gives you that sugar rush & thrill, that we all love about pop music when it is firing on all cylinders. This isn't just Zach's best song yet, it's one of the best songs of 2019 period! Now I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what Zach is going to do next.
