Concert Review: The Unlikely Candidates Are Most Likable
One thing about The Unlikely Candidates that is 100% true, is that they do feel like “unlikely candidates.” They comport themselves like a bunch of guys meeting to vent over drinks, philosophies, and laughs over how they did not get the job. Why? Because they sing for the people that cannot fit into a 9 to 5 or, at least, they did at Mercury Lounge
For some of us, a “normal job” or “life” would be the equivalent to death. Think about it! Something about a desk does look like an open coffin. Hence, I was unsurprised that their fans were head-shaking through songs such as, “Novocaine” or covers of “Blinding Lights.” Even if their tracks were about break-ups, it felt more like they were breaking up with the world. It was a thought that, frankly, I’m sure many people have nowadays. Some are calling it “The Great Resignation,” with people changing business partners as much as romantic ones, due to the pandemic being a time when all of us had to confront what we had not realized was challenging us: why didn’t we go for that dream?
Whether a lover or a leap of Fatih, most people press pause on their life, not because they were scared or they thought something would go wrong…. they simply did not believe. They did not believe they deserved, could do it, or their efforts would be long and arduous. In this affect, Kyle Morris’ vocals hit that audience like a rocky road; jagged in the way it pebbled lyrics as its drove home messages of disillusion, resilience, and causing raucous. Frankly, if there is one thing about my life that I marvel about its that I am still here. Despite all odds, I’m still here… trying…. living… and somehow making that signify thriving. Perhaps, that is what makes me an “unlikely candidate.”
I love when people take things and flip it in meaning or provide more nuance. For the Unlikely Candidates, their band name might be something people avoid in reality. After all, who wants to be the “unlikely option” but, they show, being unlikely does not mean you are not chosen. In fact, it means you are the surprise; you are the one no one thought would be loved, successful, or, somehow, still in the race to be either. Post- Pandemic, we all need to be Unlikely Candidates.
