Photo by Julia Leiby
In the adventure of trying new venues as of late, last week some of my lovely friends and I hit The Neptune. Honestly, I was not doing my best that night, and it seemed like the perfect solution to cry along to Julien Baker’s sweet, sad, and soft tunes. I guess I keep talking about crying at shows, but ya girl is emotional – no shame in that. Despite my mood, the night ended up relaxing and honestly, quite beautiful.
The night started with singer-songwriter Adam Torres. I was more impressed by his performance than I expected, but it’s still not quite my personal preference. His guitar work was impressive and intricate and his vocals were very light and airy. Torres definitely has prominent folk sounds in his music, and he finds a gentle way to tell stories through his songs.
After Adam Torres, a fairly drastic shift from folk to synth-pop happened with Half Waif. I had high expectations for Half Waif since I have been waiting to see them so long, and they absolutely exceeded them. Lately, it’s more uncommon than not for me to be truly taken away by a set, but getting intertwined in their performance was effortless. There have only been a handful of times I have walked away from a performance thinking it sounded better than the artist’s recordings, and Half Waif succeeded in that. The set up was non-traditional, with Nandi Rose Plunkett on vocals and various keyboards/sound boards, Adan Carlo on bass, and Zack Levine on drums. The extent of Nandi Rose Plunkett’s vocals cannot be completely expressed through her recorded music, and the fact that she has been classically trained as a musician is evident. I was so taken aback by the strength and projection of her voice combined with the strength of her presence, which is a sense I can’t quite put my finger on. Her set felt empowering and truly healing in a strange, unique way. It must be the mystical elements to her sound, but also the vulnerability in the way she shares herself to the audience. Half Waif mostly played their recent release, form/a. Songs I especially loved hearing included “Frost Burn,” “Night Heat,” and my very favorite “Severed Logic.” However, I think the most breathtaking moment was when Plunkett played a new song called “Burning Lavender” from her upcoming album. Of course, after one listen I can’t relay it very well, but I was completely immersed and entranced by it. Half Waif’s set gave me a much deeper admiration for Plunkett as an artist, and they should definitely be on your radar for 2018.
Finally, Julien Baker herself took the stage, with just some stringed lights in the background and her guitar. Baker has gained so much attention this year, especially with her newer release Turn Out the Lights, and I have seen her featured in plenty album of the year articles or other 2017 year-end articles. It has been astonishing to see how far she has come, and being in a fairly big, sold out venue with so many people excited to see her, was a new experience for me. Speaking of new experiences, I cannot think of the last time I saw a singer-songwriter live, if ever. Experiencing a full acoustic set like this was vastly different than my usual shows, and it was interesting to be present in that kind of energy and environment.
Photo by Julia Schwab
Baker opened with “Appointments,” a single off of Turn Out the Lights. Immediately, the audience was dead silent. During Adam Torres and Half Waif’s sets there was chattering and such going on in the background, but the venue was completely quiet after Baker’s first chord. Besides a few people talking here and there (and annoying the s**t out of me), the only real sound from the audience was a sea of voices singing along. Since Baker’s music is quieter and acoustic, the voices from the audience were especially loud, culminating into some kind of unsaid understanding. Although Baker’s music is more on the quiet side, I was also surprised by the raw power of her voice. She danced between softness and belting it out as it is, which seemed to somehow relay the type of personal connection and passion she felt in her performance. After opening, Baker brought out a violinist to accompany her for a few songs, which I thought was a creative and good touch to bring variety to an acoustic set.
Photo by Julia Schwab
Baker reasonably played a lot off of Turn Out the Lights like “Sour Breath,” “Shadowboxing,” and “Turn Out the Lights” itself. However, she did leave room in her set for some classics like “Everybody Does,” “Sprained Ankle,” and “Blacktop.” Regardless of whether it was new or old, the audience seemed to know almost all of the words to everything. Baker didn’t leave much room for banter, but it felt unnecessary. She was in her zone, the crowd was right there with her, and there was no need for anything else but a guitar and a strong, unique voice to accompany it. Baker ended with somber “Something” from Sprained Ankle, a chronicle of the too familiar feeling of sitting in heartbreak when someone leaves. She was left with a roar of applause and a type of enthusiasm and dedication from an audience I don’t see too often. Therefore, she came back for an encore of “Go Home,” played sweetly from the piano. The vocal power Baker mustered behind lines like “And make my insides clean with your kitchen bleach / But I’ve kissed enough bathroom sinks to make up for the lovers that never loved me” was truly chilling and silencing.
Even though this may have not been the most uplifting music to be immersed in, sometimes you need the sad songs more than you need the happy ones. That was evident this night, hearing the hundreds of voices relating to the honest sadness of Baker’s songs. In some ways, it wasn’t even saddening at all. I walked away from the Neptune feeling the nourishment of emotionality in a way that was comforting rather than destructive.
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JULIA SCHWAB | professional at screaming into the void | KXSU Music Reporter