I remember coming across Jeremy Zucker’s song “comethru” for the first time on TikTok in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. The song’s warm, yet catchy, melody stopped my fingers from scrolling — I was sucked into the laid-back beat and soft electric guitar.
Zucker’s mellow song captured the sense of melancholy I felt as a high school freshman. I was confined to my home and physically isolated, but still connected to friends through my electronic devices.
On Saturday, I was transported back to high school when Zucker performed “comethru” at House of Blues in Chicago for his new “welcome to the garden state” tour. Except this time, I wasn’t listening to his voice alone, but singing along with an eager crowd that had gathered in the four-floor venue.
The happy audience was made up of teens, parents and young couples in a venue filled with the smell of freshly popped popcorn.
With the line for the concert wrapping around the venue, Zucker took the stage at around 8:30 p.m., roughly two hours after the concert’s original 6:30 p.m. start time. When he finally appeared onstage, donning a leather jacket with his electric guitar slung around his shoulders, the crowd erupted in screams and cheers of excitement.
Zucker kicked off the concert with “garden state (intro),” an opening matching the title of his newly released fourth solo studio album “garden state.”
The setlist was then followed by “hometown” and “i don’t know you,” two songs from his new 14-track album. Zucker then performed “18,” which was performed before one of his most iconic songs, “all the kids are depressed.” The crowd enthusiastically sang along word-for-word, proving the song’s longstanding popularity.
The crowd was arguably the most engaged when Zucker finally pulled out his most famous song, “comethru,” which has racked up over 595 million views on YouTube since its release six years ago.
I found myself putting the camera down and feeling emotional about how much time had passed since I had first listened to it and how far I had come since then — I was a 14-year-old girl overwhelmed by the chaos of the pandemic, and today I’m a 20-year-old junior in college who moved 6,500 miles away from home.
As he stood under the warm red and green lights, Zucker hyped up the crowd with comments such as “What’s that?” after the line “There’s one thing that I need from you,” to which the crowd eagerly answered with the chorus, “Can you come through?” The singer even passed over the mic to the crowd at a point in the song, filling the entire venue with the audience’s voices.
Zucker sounded just as good live — maybe even better. While his songs don’t necessarily require powerful vocals and belting, the stability of his voice allowed him to sound just like he did in his recordings.
The concert went on into the night with a total of 22 songs played, consisting of tracks like “always, i’ll care” and “this is how you fall in love.”
I’ll admit, I haven’t kept up with Zucker’s releases over the years. But after Saturday night, I’ve been reminded that he’ll always be a staple in my favorites playlist.
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