This last part isn’t about the concert, but more so about Chvrches as a whole.

Not too long I worked for my college radio station where I was debating with another guy about the future of Chvrches. His belief was they were a flash in the pan gimmick that wouldn’t remain popular for long. I guess you could reason with the fact they are pretty novel. I mean, that was the reason I found them appealing from the beginning. They sounded different from everyone else, which is pretty novel. But I made the argument that if they got darker with their subject matter and image that they could find a lot of success by doing that. Which is exactly what they did on their latest record “Love is Dead,” and now they’re experiencing sold out shows everywhere they go on a world tour.

I’m not stating this to brag, but to state even further that Chvrches is anything but a flash in the pan, and actually might be THE band this world needs. Think about this. They’ve never had a song that everybody knows, yet they continue to gain more and more success. Which means they’re garnering success in other ways that aren’t necessarily tied to their music, but rather what they promote while taking a single shortcut to get to where they’re at.

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They promote feminism, activism, social and political awareness. They are brutally honest, and all it takes is Googling/YouTubing their name before being linked to any one of the progressive stances they proudly stand by, which is different from most bands whose music is their sole product. They also don’t care to be popular or pander to what would help them sell records. As the Guardian reported, they could have sold 200,000 more copies of “Every Open Eye” if they had hidden Martin and Lain from the record and made Lauren the focal point.

But the benefit of not selling out and keeping the focus on the entire band comes with the benefit of remaining true to who they are as people. And, now that they are truly poking through and selling out every show, the reward for that is being able to have unlimited creative freedom and expression. They can literally write anything they want without having to meet anyone’s expectations but their own — which is the best way of life: to be your own boss and make a living creating what you want to make.

Personally, I would love to see them release an acoustic album of their 10 best songs before their 4th album. They’ve done a few acoustic sets recently that have intrigued me a lot, and I think it would be a good way to test moving away from being so synth focused. Lauren has even stated, “we were making music that was slightly poppier than any of us had done previously,” so it would be cool if they dug deeper into their musical roots and switched it up a little more, even if it just meant taking notes from all the covers they’ve done and still using the synths, but in completely new ways.

But whatever they decide for their next record (which I get is unfair to anticipate right after a band puts out a record), I think Chvrches has plenty going for them to keep them around for a long time. They’re too good at the role they play as genuine beacons of unsugar-coated inspiration — which is something I think the world really needs.

The downsides I could see them running into are:

[1] Becoming pundits for the Jimmy Kimmel type people of the world. Not that I don’t like Jimmy Kimmel or think he doesn’t have a good agenda despite how leftist he comes off, but I think the reason Chvrches’ doesn’t come off as too preachy is because they aren’t pushy about being on a side, nor are they overly-pushy about their opinions. They just want to encourage that people be nicer and treat others better. So my hope is they’re able to stay within their own sphere of influence and not get pulled into someone else’s.

[2] Outgrowing their core fan base which could lead to more issues at concerts when fans don’t agree with what they have to say. Which, one could argue that is a necessary part of promoting change with regard to social issues — it’s never easy since not everyone wants or agrees that change is necessary. But I think they will probably encounter more hecklers from audiences who take up issue with their feminism stances and anti-Trump views and things of that nature. However, I think Chvrches will constantly be on the other end to remind us to…