“Where are my lesbians at? Where are my Latinas at?” – Cristal Ramirez
The Aces graced the 9:30 Club on November 15th with a night of dance ready pop that no one was shy to take full advantage of. They had the late show slot (the band Couch performed earlier), so it was approaching midnight when we, the denizens of the nearly sold out club, got the chance to strut our stuff to the dulcet sounds of The Aces’ Gold Star Baby Tour. Lydia Night (formerly of The Regrettes) also opened with an excellent dance warm-up set. Hopefully Lydia will return to DC with her own headlining show soon.
The Aces are touring for their fourth album, Gold Star Baby (self-produced), released in 2025. They played every song from the album (10 songs and two interludes), and sampled from their other three albums, taking us on a robust 24-song journey into the wee hours of the night. Zero complaints.
The concert started with the new album’s own beginning, a funky radio promo for the fictional club called Gold Star Baby. Then they kept the Gold Star dream alive with a few more songs from the new album, including the title track and “Twin Flame”. The latter grabs you and demands your submission to the bassline, facilitating your descent into expressing all the dance moves you desire. Forget that the song is about holding on to a relationship you should let go of after a break-up, while trying to date someone new that looks like your ex. Those may be pertinent details for your critical mind, but The Aces just really want you to dance and they won this night.
The Aces were first signed in 2016, and their first epically catchy tune “Stuck” was released shortly after, becoming a Billboard hit in 2017. But their origins go much further back, when sisters Alisa (drums) and Cristal Ramirez (vocals and guitar) formed the band with friends McKenna Petty (bass) and Katie Henderson (guitar) in 2008. They forged their identify as a band by playing local venues and bars in their hometown of Provo, Utah. They officially went by the name The Blue Aces in 2012 and released three EPs, before shortening the name a few years later and releasing their first full length album in 2017. I first caught them live at the 2018 All Things Go Festival*, and based on that experience alone, I have made a point to see them live whenever they come to DC (so far four times).
Midway through the set they did another deep dive into Gold Star Baby, beginning with the second interlude on the album called “The Girls Interlude”, based on a phone call about making plans to see the band at the club. They also took this time to host a best dressed contest with the audience. I missed that memo, but the world is better for it. The band spent a few seconds to scan the crowd and with appropriate fanfare picked one winner to come on stage. She was wearing a gold, glittery top. Easy victory, but they also gave a shout out to another women in the balcony fully dressed as a disco ball. It was very solid and might have won if they had noticed it earlier.
As they continued with the new songs, “She Likes Me” got a healthy number of fans singing along. According to Cristal “The Magic” is about ‘sex appeal’. The band needed our help for this one, so they led us on a both hands up for the chorus ‘They know we got it, we got the magic’ and then a swoop down with the ‘ah-oop’. Obviously the crowd added extra sex appeal to the song’s already steamy lyrics and suggestive groove. As one of their most recent singles, it already ranks up there as one of their all-time best songs.
They did perform one even newer song not on the album called “Square One”, beautifully crafted where the highlight is Cristal’s vocals. She also got to say ‘Fuck you’ a lot, which clearly she enjoyed. As they introduced it, they also talked about a segment they used to do called ‘Spill the Tea’. They brought it back for this crowd, it lasted a wee bit long, but the craziest thing that someone ‘spilled’ was that their grandmother had three baby daddies. The ladies of The Aces loved it.
The band’s overall aesthetic and musical style are inspired by ’80s new wave and pop-punk bands, and their logo and album artwork (such as for the album I’ve Loved You For So Long) reflect this retro-motif. Alisa was elevated in the back stage on drums, while the other three roamed around the main stage. The backdrop was their giant band logo, which gives off a retro vibe akin to the logos from variety shows like Solid Gold or Soul Train. Add The Aces’ shows to that pantheon.
When you attend enough concerts in a year, not all can be the best, the most memorable, or one you’ll invest ink and paper writing home to Mom. But there are shows that hit the right nerve. That invoke that perfect feeling. Whether satisfaction or surprise or joy or the warm glow of making the correct decision. A feeling that is yours, and yours alone. When I leave a show after experiencing such a feeling, that is always how I remember it. And so I will remember The Aces show at the 9:30 Club as “the joy of triumph”. The second I knew about their show, I made it extra bold on my healthy (and unattainable) list of future concerts. This was one to look forward to, and one to move things around for. Not all concerts are like that. But “the joy of triumph” comes in how The Aces delivered. How my aspirations were rewarded in the form of dance-friendly, 80’s-tinged, disco ready pop. And in the way the band wanted to be there and left nothing on the table. There was nothing flashy or over the top, but they made it fun.
Near the end, Cristal described “Spending the Night” as her favorite from the new album. The song speaks to a recurring casual hookup and falling for that person even though they shouldn’t.
They ended the show (no encore – it was already late!) with my two favorite The Aces songs, “Daydream” and “Stuck”. Then we had to leave, but with a collective sense of joy.
There are four albums you can buy in The Aces oeuvre, so get the party started and add a copy of Gold Star Baby to your collection. It will feel good. If you’re feeling ambitious, next buy their debut album, 2018’s When My Heart Felt Volcanic. That will feel great. Don’t forget to dance.
Setlist
- Welcome to the Gold Star Baby
- Jealous
- (unknown)
- Gold Star Baby
- Twin Flame
- Always Get This Way
- Don’t Freak
- Kelly
- I’m Sweet (I’m Mean)
- I Can Break Your Heart Too
- The Girls Interlude
- She Likes Me
- Stroke
- Fire in the Hole
- The Magic
- (unknown)
- Square One
- Girls Make Me Wanna Die
- Volcanic Love
- Waiting for You
- Spending the Night
- You Got Me
- Daydream
- Stuck
* This is when the All Things Go Festival was still in DC proper between the old Dock 5 building and the back of Union Market. Now that space is a nice communal area with the new Gables Union Market building replacing Dock 5, but there was a time we had good music there!
A DC Journey 