This past Friday night was a very special night for relatively new artist, Stephen Sanchez. He was stepping onto stage on the second consecutive sold-out night at the Wiltern, Amazon Music had positioned large cameras throughout the room for a special filming of the show, in which devoted fans cried often that it was Sanchez’s 21st birthday.
Transcending bygone eras, Sanchez brings one of the best stage presentations of nostalgia rock we’ve experienced since Leon Bridges’ mainstage debut. Similar to Nick Waterhouse, Pokey LeFarge and Nick Pagan — Sanchez shines with a warm, throwback sound built to please today’s youth and their parents, and even their grandparents.
Opening the night, Nashville’s throwback crooner, Stephen Day set the time machine vibes right. With his twangy shreds of guitar and big vocals, Day had the room packed, and based on the literal screams coming from the crowd, they weren’t here early just for the main act. Day was his own special late 50s rock performance that was the perfect amuse-bouche for what a night with Sanchez would bring.
After a brief changeover, the main act started right on time with a dramatic light cue rinsing the entire stage in white light. The crowd roared as the band took to their positions, awaiting Stephen Sanchez’s grand entrance. Emerging in a wide-legged black suit and manicured slicked-back hair, Sanchez opened the show with “Something About Her,” the same track that opens his debut album Angel Face.
Bathed in white backlight, Sanchez appears for the first song of the night as nothing more than a mysterious silhouette, clutching his long-wired microphone from the lowest position it’s all so wonderfully apropos. His vocals didn’t miss a single note. They’re classy and smooth, and the audience is no longer at the Wiltern; they are somewhere between a smokey 1960s lounge where Sanchez’s storybook lyrics are born.
The front lights reveal Sanchez for the first time of the night, and the crowd roars in applause, complete with some Beatlemania-style screams. A large bulb marquee lights up behind the band, spelling “Sanchez Baby!” The whole thing felt like a black-and-white TV special from yesteryear. You couldn’t help but notice that this walking slice of 1958 incarnate garners a unique mix of young and considerably older fans. One could speculate his recreation of signature sounds and visual stylings from decades past is done with such panache he is touching hearts much more deeply than a 50s cover band playing the local fair.
Sanchez would follow a setlist relatively in parallel with the order of his album, swapping around a few songs for a better live flow. Still, for an artist signed just three years ago with only an EP and a debut album to his catalog, this felt like an incredibly curated live performance backed by years of touring experience and honed showmanship. Sanchez could be easily filed into the “2020-TikTok born singer/songwriter” category. Still, like his generation-defying ballads, he easily distances himself from his TikTok brethren.
Speaking to his vocal prowess, his performance of “Be More” and “Doesn’t Do Me Good,” two songs with vocally demanding notes, were performed back-to-back. There was a curiosity if he would go for it, and much to everyone’s joy, he went for it. While some artists might only save the big notes for the studio, Sanchez didn’t hesitate to tackle those falsettos with every ounce of emotion and accuracy heard on the album. Did we mention this guy just turned 21?!
As fans wiped the tears from the corners of their eyes, Sanchez wasn’t done reminding them he was the complete performance package. He strapped on a beautiful Gretsch Hollow Body guitar, and wouldn’t you know it, the kid doesn’t just sing; he can play a mean guitar right down to striking some signature playing positions that made us feel like the kids seeing Marty McFly channel Chuck Berry at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. You guys aren’t ready for that reference, but your parents will love it…
A nice touch of the night were some splendid oldies covers featuring a thunderous kickdrum-powered cover of Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” and The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.”
It wasn’t all slow ballads and covers, either. Sanchez and company energized the room with “Shake” which saw Sanchez dancing and moving straight out of the Elvis Jailhouse Rock era.
By the end of the show, it came as little surprise what song would close the night. Despite the massive amount of “saw it coming,” that did not stop the crowd from losing their minds when they heard the opening strums of “Until I Found You.” A jubilant sing-along occurred on the last chorus, with Sanchez playing improv choir director at the end.
Throughout the night, Sanchez set up many of his songs with snippets of narrative from the tale of a lone Troubadour and the woman he falls for that would lead to his untimely end. This was a welcoming treat for fans, keeping them in suspense for the next bit.
The story was the tale Stephen created to connect the lyrics of the tracks from his debut album, Angel Face. The whole thing played like the storytelling moments in famous Elvis tracks like “Are You Lonesome Tonight.” And just like Elvis’ words, “Someone said that the world’s a stage and each of us must play a part.” Sanchez’s world was the Wiltern stage that night, and he certainly knew the part he was playing.
Words & Photos: Bryan Olinger
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