The Dare debuted his signature suit and tie look in Nashville on Oct. 3 at Exit/In, less than a mile from Vanderbilt’s campus. On the second night of his brief tour, he packed the house with a sold-out show and made the venue — which has hosted rock icons from REM to the Red Hot Chili Peppers — feel like the NYC club scene he writes about in his raunchy lyrics.
Harrison Patrick Smith, otherwise known as The Dare, is a Los Angeles-born singer based in Brooklyn, New York. He rose to popularity after releasing his debut single “Girls,” which caught the attention of artists like Charli XCX. Charli XCX later invited him to produce her hit track “Guess,” featuring a remix with Billie Eilish. The Dare is now at the forefront of a dance rock/indie sleaze revival — taking influence from New York legends like LCD Soundsystem and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Opening act atlgrandma, a DJ and producer from Atlanta who worked on earlier projects with Smith, got the audience dancing with alt pop mixes. Sporting an unassuming shaggy haircut and quarter zip sweater, atlgrandma sampled artists like Addison Rae, Charli XCX, PinkPantheress and Passion Pit. After an hour-long opening set, the crowd was ready to keep the night going.
Around 9 p.m. CST, The Dare took the stage, which only had a DJ deck and a massive light set up; he started with a song appropriately titled “Open Up.” This track comes from his first album “What’s Wrong With New York,” which contains most of the songs performed on this tour. Throughout his 13-song set list, Smith danced wildly across the stage, ditching the microphone stand and even swinging on the speakers on the sides of the stage, making him feel more like a part of the audience than the performer we all came to see.
Throughout the set, Smith fed off the intimate setting and frequently complimented the energy in the room while sharing cheeky remarks with the crowd.
“You know all my dance moves are completely self-taught, right? No education necessary,” Smith said.
Toward the end of the show, he played one of his bigger hits, “All Night,” with a catchy chorus repeating “L.A. to New York/New York to L.A.,” to which many in the crowd playfully murmured, “What about Nashville?”
The night came to a close with his hit “Girls,” which takes heavy influence from LCD Soundsystem’s “Drunk Girls,” with sarcastic and suggestive lyrics over a dance rock beat. You would be hard pressed to find someone in the room who didn’t know every word, and the mosh pits and fanatic dancing left my phone camera fogging up as I attempted to record the flashing strobe lights behind him.
On his first trip to Nashville, The Dare brought a party to Exit/In and made sure no one would forget it.
