Oso Oso is an emo pop-punk band project by Jade Lilitri (pen name) from Long Beach. He handles the vocals, songwriting, guitar, bass, drums, and recording for all the tracks. When he tours, obviously he’s just one person, so he brings along a band. Earlier this May, Oso Oso announced that, to commemorate being around for 10 years, they’d hit the road for a three-leg tour, with each ticket only being $10 dollars for 10 years: “The $10 Bill Tour.” It started in June in Los Angeles, and just this past weekend, they played in Milwaukee at the legendary X-Ray Arcade with local artist Holy Pinto (Aymen Saleh) opening up for them. Holy Pinto is originally from Canterbury, England, and is now based in Milwaukee. He played a beautiful acoustic set to get the night started.
Side note: Stop disrespecting the openers, especially in small venues!! I could hear several people talking over Holy Pinto’s set and that’s so rude. If you want to have a conversation, step outside or go to the bar. Do not stand in the center room in front of the stage and talk loudly. You might not know them or even like the music, but someone there does and the band picked the artist to open for them. By disrespecting the opener, you’re disrespecting the headliner. It was mentioned a couple times by Holy Pinto and Oso Oso that Jade Lilitri asked him to be their direct local support at the show, so don’t be that person and respect the artist.
Anyways, I did not know Holy Pinto was a solo artist, but he blew me away. His voice was delicate and soft which paired so well with his lovely acoustic guitar. It had been a long weekend so it was almost so soothing, I could have taken a nap, in a good way. I definitely want to see more of Holy Pinto in the future — also such a great stage name. Despite even the tiniest of tech difficulties during his set, he did an amazing job.
After his set, it was time to prepare for Oso Oso. You could feel the excitement and anticipation in the air. It did not take much other than a quick line check to make sure all the instruments were working properly. From the first note, the crowd was singing along to every song. There was jumping and moshing, it was a frenzy in the crowd. I was expecting a stage diver, but no one did. There were definitely some big-time fans and maybe some newer fans who didn’t know what to expect of the show, but it was high energy the entire time. I had seen Oso Oso once a couple years ago, so I definitely forgot a little bit about how much energy they bring to the stage. Even during the acoustic songs, the crowd was singing their hearts out to the music.
It was a beautiful Sunday for music and the crowd was there for it. Here’s to 10 years of music with Oso Oso and hopefully many more to come in the future. Remember this tour has THREE LEGS, so don’t miss out!
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