I don’t normally have the desire to follow the ‘in-crowd,’ but I knew I’d make an exception to see The Dare return to a venue he is all too familiar with. As night 4 of his 7-show residency at Baby’s All Right commenced, I fought my way through the crowd of 280 to be able to experience the evening from multiple vantage points… to observe the physical effects this music and this culture has on people, while still allowing myself to get in on the fun. The Dare’s debut album, ‘What’s Wrong With New York?,’ is out now.

Stream: “Girls” – The Dare

When the news broke that Harrison Patrick Smith, better known as The Dare – NYC’s indie sleaze golden boy of the moment – would be playing a residency at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right, an instant sellout was expected and was quickly realized.

More shows were added. Those sold out too.

Night four of seven on Thursday, May 15th served as the superlative early start to the weekend for many attendees, most of whom leisurely rolled into the room with drinks in hand well after 10:30 p.m., having gotten Smith’s IG memo that he would not take the stage till nearly 11. Members of fellow NYC-based act Geese opened the night with a DJ set onstage, while a local DJ kept the crowd occupied as they entered the building and kept the party going in the lobby well after The Dare had left the stage.

The 13-song set, just about 50 minutes in length, was comprised of a majority of tunes off his latest record, What’s Wrong With New York?, released this past fall, along with a handful of Dare classics and a cover. WWWNY tracks such as “Good Time,” You’re Invited” and “I Destroyed Disco” were clear highlights of the first half of the set, as Smith, donned in his signature suit, tie, and sunglasses, held the capacity crowd of 280 in the palm of his hands with erratic twists and turns and high-pitched yelps. Many knew the songs back to front, moving in sync with the bass and the beat drops. Some were present as an accessory to a friend or two of whom the previous statement could apply to. Others simply used the music as a backdrop for their own conversations. None looked out of place.

Responsible for the production of his bestie charli xcx’s 2024 hit “Guess” off brat, The Dare is certainly enigmatic, but his theatrical campiness and commitment to his bit as the Dimes Square, Brit-pop adjacent figure that he is evokes instant likability.

Like charli, and despite what the internet may dramatize, his energy does not exclude. Not once did he utter “This one’s for the bad bitches,” “Trust fund babies only,” or any statements of a similar ilk.

He was merely the vessel for the audience’s night to remember: “You play the drums, I’ll write lyrricssss/ You bring the soooong, I’ll bring the spir-rit/ You got a dem-mo, I wanna hear itttttt/ You got the add-dress? I think I’m near ittttt. You’re invited/ You’re invited.”

Smith’s cover of English post-punk band The Sound’s “I Can’t Escape Myself” promptly shifted the experience from a high-octane instrumental and vocal display to a lo-fi event, allowing audience members the chance to maneuver themselves to the bar in the back of the room for another round of vodka soda’s from the bartenders, almost all equipped with the look of, ‘I’ve heard this before,’ on their faces, and proceed to wiggle their way back to friends.

Only the bravest, often with two drinks in hand, did so. While not exactly bumper to bumper, the tightness of the room ensured only the rarest of souls would escape without a splash of liquor spilled by the hands of another or the swift, momentary blindness via an iPhone flash by those looking to capture the moment.

But isn’t the moderately cutthroat nature of which we existed in for those 50 minutes the beauty of it all?

Following this interlude of sorts, The Dare closed his set with the infectious “Girls,” ripping into its confessional hook that has seeped its way into the lives of not just a city, but a generation.

“I like the girls that do drugs/ Girls with cigarettes in the back of the club/ Girls that hate cops and buy guns/ Girls with no buns, girls that’s mean just for fun.”As he and his fans exited the room with the knowledge that the he’d be back to do it all over again the following night, and that the night itself was just getting started, there seemed to be only one thing on everyone’s mind: “What’s next?”

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