Bleachers: From the Studio to the Coke Stage
Bleachers by Gabbie Dominique.
“Calgary’s the shit!” Jack Antonoff shouted it after every song, grinning at the roaring crowd. The Bleachers frontman wasn’t just being polite—he meant it. And after the band’s explosive set on the Coca-Cola Stage, the feeling was mutual.
Despite the on-and-off rain, fans packed in early, buzzing with anticipation. I secured a spot at the barricade, surrounded by die-hards—some had driven from Montana, others flown in from Ontario—all united by their love for the New Jersey indie-rockers.
They kicked the evening off with “I Am Right On Time,” and the crowd erupted at the first note. Antonoff, drenched in stage lights, was a whirlwind of energy, sprinting across the stage and pulling the audience into every chorus. The band—Mikey Freedom Hart, Zem Audu, Sean Hutchinson, Evan Smith, and Michael Riddleberger—locked into the groove, turning the set into a euphoric, sweat-drenched sing-along. With every note the band played, the crowd erupted in cheers, with fans singing along. A sign in a crowd said, “Chinatown, but make it Cowtown!” about the Bleachers song, as the band began playing their track, every lyric that had ‘Chinatown’ was changed to ‘Cowtown.’
Before Antonoff launched the crowd into "Rollercoaster," he paused to share the band’s origin story, centered on a single, haunting note: B flat. “It wasn’t lying,” he said, recalling how Depeche Mode’s use of the note in their music resonated with his anxiety. “It felt like it wasn’t telling you any bullshit. You could hear all the sadness, all the ‘nothing’s gonna work out,’ but there was still this tiny sliver of hope.” That revelation led him to a Roland Juno-6 keyboard, the first Bleachers songs, and ultimately, this moment—standing in front of thousands, screaming into the mic: “Music is bound by the feeling that nothing’s gonna fucking happen… but there’s a small chance it does.”And then, the catharsis. Fans hoisted each other onto shoulders during "Rollercoaster," shouting every word. Antonoff, ever the conductor of collective emotion, had us in the palm of his hand—jumping, crying, laughing, all at once.
Calgary was treated to a surprise acoustic rendition of “Margaret” the Lana Del Rey song featuring Bleachers—performed by Antonoff himself with just an acoustic guitar. The moment became one of the evening’s highlights, sparked by a fan’s sign requesting the song Lana had written about Jack’s wife, Margaret Qualley. Stripped down and intimate, his verse carried a personal weight that resonated deeply with the crowd.
The show was perfect, and the universe seemed to agree. Just as Bleachers launched into playing “Don’t Take The Money,” the sky erupted in a cascade of Stampede fireworks. Antonoff stepped off the stage and into the crowd, taking time to sign everything from vinyl records to Pokémon cards—even mine—and snapping selfies with fans in a moment that felt as personal as it was unexpected.
Bleachers closed off Thursday evening at the Coca-Cola Stage with “Stop Making This Hurt,” a standout track from their 2021 album Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night—an energetic, cathartic finale to a set that never once lost its momentum. It was the perfect song to close out the night—an electrifying high note that had the entire crowd dancing, shouting, and wishing the set could go on just a little longer.