Enjoy was…enjoyable

By Lauren Hernandez

Fine, I’ll admit it. I enjoyed Enjoy. I heard they were coming to the Paper Tiger in San Antonio forever ago and I kept the date on my calendar, but the thought of having to fight my way to the front of a crowd filled with sweaty high schoolers, grumpy because of their dripping facepaint and the fact that they’ve been stuck in the crowd without water for a of couple hours understandably did not appeal to me. I did my time when I was in high school, and I don’t want to be reminded of it. But, alas, I went. I just had nothing better to do. 

I showed up too early and had to wait too long for the repetitive beats of Cowgirl Clue. Cowgirl Clue is definitely a city girl who loves the country, making the fact that she was born in Texas very apparent in her music and fashion.

I really fucked with it at first. Cowgirl Clue’s sound was hypnotic yet fun, and her stage presence was expressive. But, after a few songs, my legs began to hurt and my camera felt very heavy. I just got… well, bored. 

But that’s not to discredit Cowgirl Clue’s talent, which she has a ton of. Her Vada Vada, twangy, almost hyperpop beats just didn’t feel too fitting in the grungy, shitty atmosphere of Paper Tiger, and I know that if I were much less sober and in LA I would’ve danced to the music all night. 

Enjoy was up next and they were better than I expected. I haven’t seen The Garden in quite a few years, so it really was a joy to see one of the twins again. It was also fitting because my twin, who accompanied me at The Garden and goes to most shows with me, didn’t feel like going to Enjoy, so both me and Wyatt Shears were twin-less.

Anyways! Enjoy was chill and fun and I was able to get a solid spot by the stairs leading up to the stage. I took photos from the right side of the stage the entire time, and that was about it. But the venue was packed with fans and their partners, who tried to be enthusiastic, so let’s hear some of their stories from the night, since I don’t wanna just bore you with mine. 

Lesley is an avid, hardcore fan of everything The Garden-related. 

“I had seen Cowgirl Clue and The Garden before, but I was excited to see Enjoy after four years of being a fan.” She recalled discovering Enjoy before any of the twins’ other side projects, through a Molchat Doma radio playlist when quarantine first started.

“I vividly remember John Maus’ ‘Keep Pushing On’ played right before Enjoy’s ‘I’ve Wasted So Much Time.’ I assumed Wyatt was European too and didn’t think anything else of it.”

She appreciates Enjoy for “his straight-forward yet loose outlook on life.” It helps her “feel better when I’m down on myself or the world as a whole. In high school I remember being inspired by both Wyatt and Fletcher for embracing their kooky ideas and integrating it into their music.” 

Enjoy, and the Shears twins in general, are honestly transformative to weird and introverted high school kids globally. I can attest to that. 

But with all of this background info, it can be rightfully assumed that Lesley showed up early and was at the very front of the crowd for both Cowgirl Clue and Enjoy.

“The energy was different than what I was used to for sure” – I’m not too sure what type of energy she is used to…

“I almost got decked in the head by someone’s legs a few times and was like four feet away from both Ashley [Cowgirl Clue] and Wyatt [Enjoy] for most of their sets.”

Crazy shit! I could never; that crowd was packed like sardines, and with my good vantage point, I wanted nothing to do with it. 

For Malaki, another HUGE Enjoy fan (I swear he has played the Shears twins’ entire discography at the office every week for years), the front of the crowd “wasn’t amazing, but that’s from the TikTokification of Vada Vada” – his words, not mine. 

He was excited that he “was able to move around and get the mosh pit started, yeah, I did that ‘B)’.” He was also thrilled to crowd surf, with the help of his friends, and sent the video in response to his friend, who crowd surfed for the first time ever at the show in Austin on the 28th.

One of the highlights of his night was when Enjoy played “I’ve Got The World In My Pocket,” which is his “favorite song from Enjoy. I think he instinctively knew it was about to be my 21st birthday in two hours and decided to perform it.”

Cesar, another concert-goer and friend I chatted with, likes Enjoy more than The Garden.

“They are just more my vibe” – I don’t know if he said that directly but it sounds like something he would attest to. 

He stayed in the back at first, getting some videos of his favorite songs, and slowly moved his way further into the crowd. 

“I liked how fast the show was,” he told me later. “It was neverending from start to finish. The crowd was fun to be in, they were jumping and singing to every single song. And Wyatt sounded great.”

My friend Miles, who stood by me next to the stairs and took some fantastic photos, just said “it wasn’t super notable.” I agree, but I’m writing this article anyways. 

Morgan, who moved to Austin a few months ago and hasn’t been heard from since, magically appeared in the crowd, perched on some guy’s shoulders underneath the disco ball.

“My only goal at a show is to climb onto some huge guy’s shoulders,” she later said.

So that was Enjoy at Paper Tiger, from the perspectives of fans of all ages and all places in the crowd. And don’t worry if you weren’t there, the Shears twins will always be back – they always are, just give it a few years.