Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!

Today’s intro is pretty long, so if you’re just here for the hints, you might need to scroll a little longer than usual. Sorry. Please bear with me though, because I have a broader point to make.

I was visiting family and friends back in Scotland over the holidays. I originally planned to return to Montreal on January 11. But I ended up changing my departure to a week later and adding an extended layover in Paris (where I was flying through anyway), mainly so I could see the German boy band I have not been able to stop listening to since last April.

Folks, I went to my first Electric Callboy gig this week. I’ve been looking forward to this for months. I’ve watched countless live EC videos and I knew the setlist so there weren’t any real surprises. They still managed to blow away my sky-high expectations. 

I think every single person in that room was dancing and singing along to pretty much every song. The production and energy was off the charts. It was an outstanding show and I am unlikely to shut up about it for quite a while.

I’ve been to tons of shows and music festivals. It’s too early to say if this is my favorite show of all time, but it was absolutely the biggest and best party I’ve ever been to. I truly cannot wait to do it all over again in a few months. 

I can’t emphasize enough how much I’ve fallen in love with Electric Callboy. Their mix of pop, metal and techno is everything I’ve ever wanted from a band. Listening to their music and watching their videos and vlogs has brought immense joy to my life this past year. So I was thrilled to finally get the proper experience of my first live EC show.  

There was such an incredible vibe at the gig. It was all about people (including the many young kids who were there) getting together as one and having a great time. 

I know concerts by major artists are prohibitively expensive for many. But I urge you in the strongest possible terms to go see some live music. 

You might be able to find some free shows near you or a cheap gig at a dive bar. In an age of increasing inauthenticity, it’s pretty tough to fake the energy and human spirit of live music. So go enjoy some.

(As those of you who read yesterday’s column will know, I stayed in Paris by myself for a couple of days after Sunday’s show. I turned an overnight layover into an extra mini vacation, changing my return flight a second time to do so. It was a nice little holiday! Also, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider changing my flight once again so I could go see EC in Lyon and Barcelona as well. May is too far away.)

Before we begin, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It’s a fun hangout spot, and you’re more than welcome to join us.

Discord is also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare (or not-so-rare) occasions that I mess something up. I don’t look at Twitter much.

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, January 24 are coming right up.

Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.

Today’s 16 words are...

The level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:

Be warned: we’re really starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one word for each group.

Today’s Connections word hints are…

Need some extra help?

Today’s Connections groups are...

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

I figured SCOOP (since I have a few such tees), HALTER and CREW had to go together. It took me a beat to realize that BOAT was the missing link for the blues.

The purples were up next, thanks to GLOBE and CONE. No problem there.

MOUTHGUARD and ROBE made the yellows pretty clear. That left the greens (which had a simple enough category to deduce) for a perfect game and my 329th win in a row.

How did you get on today? Here's my grid:

🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter for hints and the solution for Sunday’s game if you need them.

P.S. Okay, I know many of you don’t or won’t care about this band. On the other hand, I believe there are two kinds of people: Electric Callboy fans and those who aren’t yet Electric Callboy fans. 

I’m a little annoyed in hindsight that I spent some time filming clips at the show instead of just taking a few photos and otherwise keeping my phone away. I knew other people would be filming and uploading their footage to YouTube. In fact, someone filmed the full Paris show, so I can keep reliving it until the next time I see them. The newsletter platform I use won’t let me embed that YouTube video properly, but you can watch it here.

Also, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched this video of Opposites React checking out the band and the video for “Hypa Hypa” for the first time. They get what the band are all about immediately and seem to instantly fall in love with Electric Callboy, just as I did:

I really resonate with this quote from another Opposites React video (I’ve enjoyed many of them!): “Electric Callboy has changed who I am inside. I mourn the years I that have gone without knowing about this band.” I’m looking forward to hearing about their experience of seeing EC live for the first time as well.

Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!

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