By Erin Feist
Nashville-based indie-pop band COIN made a pitstop in Connecticut on September 24th as part of their Uncanny Valley tour. The tour, the namesake of their fifth album released in March, has been their biggest yet. In fact, their show just the night before at MGM Music Hall in Boston was their largest to date, with a venue capacity of just over five thousand. The Dome at Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut, was their only stop of the tour in the tri-state area. It was a bit of a trek from the Bronx, so my friends and I had to rent a car to get there. Nonetheless, the journey was so worth it for such an electric and unforgettable concert.
The band’s crowd connection was phenomenal. Their nonstop dancing and playfulness with both the crowd and each other set an energetically fun mood for the whole show. The size of the venue only contributed to the intimate feel of the show’s atmosphere. The passion they performed with throughout their 80 minutes on stage—from upbeat hits like “Talk Too Much” and “Crash My Car” to slower ballads like “Let It All Out” and “Malibu 1992”—never left room for a dull moment among the audience. Screaming along to “Cutie,” one of my personal favorites off Uncanny Valley, was most definitely the reason for my sore throat the following day. Honorable mentions go to “I Want It All,” “Valentine,” and “Youuu” from their 2020 record Dreamland. Other favorites that didn’t make it on the night’s setlist, like “Boyfriend,” “Run,” and “It Works,” were made sure to be shouted with windows down on the car ride back.
The Dome, unheard of to me before this, proved to have some sentimental value to COIN. In a break between songs, lead singer Chase Lawrence described it as the first venue the band ever played outside of Nashville back in 2014, drawing loud cheers of support from me personally as a Tennessee native. After being a fan back home for years, it felt really special finally seeing them live for the first time, and any expectations were far surpassed. There was even a fan-organized project to hold up heart-shaped paper cutouts during their second to last song, “Loving.” Afterward, the little white hearts littering the floor were taken home by many as a souvenir from the show, myself included.
