A room of mainly college and high school-aged students pack into the GA pit, hands waving at their faces to try and cool off from the heat, and to disperse the smell of their neighbors' joints and vapes. A few people will need to have security help them from fainting spells. Up above, a parent explains concert logistics to his kindergartener, who barely fills out half of the premium seat he's in. At the very back of the venue, a fan holds LED juggling clubs while security eyes him, making sure that he reigns it in. The mix of fans that Still Woozy brings is an eclectic bunch, reflective of the mix of sounds and energies he'll bring to the stage tonight.
Still Woozy's California roots show in his songs--his the psychedelic indie pop sounds feel like digging your feet into the sand while the sun sets, a joint fizzling out between your fingers. His kooky album art (drawn by his wife) is a hand-drawn acid trip. It makes sense, then, why he has sold out The Sylvee, a venue situated in a college town with lax marijuana laws, twice now.
But he's more than just stoner rock--when Still Woozy jumps on stage, he is clear-eyed, bouncy and soft: "it's a Friday night, and love is in the air." He begins with "Again" which lyrically prompts daydreaming, but he runs back and forth from stage left to right to keep us from drifting off too soon. Sven Gamsky, or Still Woozy, is a ball of energy--a funny contrast to the chill nature of his music. Even his most driving songs wouldn't meet conventional moshing standards, but he's not one to let the tempo hold him back from shaking his hips or giving his softer lyrics a bit more oomph in performance.
On paper, he's an indie pop artist, but in practice, he takes a bite from several genres like many modern indie artists. His opener, MICHELLE, also gets caught in the genre game. They're a six-piece band that meshes bedroom pop with bouncy R&B, but their sound and collaborators stick them into an indie space. They feel like a true gen-z band, with four front-people with mixed races, identities and sexualities, who work as one organism as they perform. Each song has a choreographed dance, reminiscent of k-pop idols, and they always coordinate their outfits to color or theme. They take the audience by surprise, bringing a cohesiveness that isn't common for openers.
Gamsky formed the Still Woozy project in 2017, and would pick up fans for early singles like "Cooks," which found it's way to the film, The After Party. After gaining momentum from touring and releasing new music every year, he would find his way to Coachella, get on production credits with SZA and nab the title track for the Anyone But You soundtrack. We would have to wait three years for his 2024 album, Loveseat, due to COVID-19 delays and the birth of Sven's child at the end of 2023.
But it's that relationship with his wife and child that make this album so different. Early on the setlist, he plays "All Your Life," an ode to his wife and their journey together. A few songs later he sings, "I was made for you/And you for me...You with your gap tooth and huge eyes/You see through my every disguise," on "Baby." About halfway into the show, he sits down at his floral-covered piano and dedicates the show to his kid, who is somewhere in the audience or behind the stage. It's obvious that this album is a love letter to his family, and I occasionally have the thought of it being a part of his vows to his wife, Amiya.
The sweetness doesn't get lost on us, even if he's shaking his hips and slapping his butt while singing. Sven keeps a fun-dad-energy going, finding the sweet spot between sincerity and heart and being goofy and light. Because even in fatherhood, he's still a bit woozy.
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