Michelle by @samirashobeiri on Instagram
Before I recount the tale of the dreamy night I spent with Meg, Melina, and Michelle, y’all ever notice how it ALWAYS smells like hotdogs being grilled inside Neumos? It’s honestly like you’re in SODO for a Mariner’s game instead of squished up against a bunch of strangers in a small venue. But I love it. I’ve seen two quite different shows there and the one consistency has been that glorious bratwurst smell, plus all of the toppings that go on a quality dog. The hotdog stand right outside the venue is one of the notably quirky but sweet things about music on Capitol Hill.
Hand Habits, Meg Duffy’s project opened the sold-out tour kickoff at Neumos on the 15th. One song into Duffy’s set, she declared the Seattle show her favorite of the entire tour because the crowd was actually listening to her sing. She said that she had been on tour with another band and people had just talked over her entire set: “That was really hard, it was like a really hard thing for me, people were talking while I was singing,” the singer fake whined. Despite this somewhat first world problem, I do find it rude when people at the bar think it’s totally fine to just carry on their conversation as if the opener isn’t there pouring their whole soul out on stage. They work just as hard as the headliner and deserve the same amount of respect. If you don’t care about them, don’t show up so early! Social hour shouldn’t take place right in the middle of someone’s set! But whatever, rant over, because the crowd at Neumos was very well behaved!
Hand Habits by @samirashobeiri on Instagram
Before the show, I had previewed some of Hand Habit’s music, but hadn’t given her as much thought as Jay Som and Japanese Breakfast, which was a mistake on my behalf. Meg brings such raw emotion to her performances as her voice melted into the sound of her guitar during her slow, sad songs that mesmerized the whole audience. She played “Flower Glass” and “Book on How to Change”, two songs off her most recent full release Wildly Idle (Humble Before the Void). She also played a variety of new songs and mentioned that she is working on a new album. If you’re not already a fan of this shallow-beanie wearing cutie, you should listen to some of her stuff and be on the lookout for the new album!
Next, Melina Duterte (of Jay Som) popped onto stage with a gray hood up, Marshall Mathers style, plus one side tucked behind her ear. I had to giggle a little but mostly respect her for that move, it was different than anything I had seen any frontwoman do before, but she totally pulled it off. In contrast to Hand Habits’ one woman show, Melina was joined by a full band. A majority of the tracks played were off of Everybody Works and some highlights were “For Light” and “The Bus Song” (a fan favorite). She also touched on some older songs, like “Turn Into”, the closing track from the album by the same name. Duterte introduced it as “a song about turning into a goblin.” Whether or not that’s the song’s true meaning is up to interpretation, but this was just the beginning of Melina’s banter. She had something to say about the aforementioned distinct aroma of Neumos. “It smells like onions. Onions and butter, classic. You guys ever cook?” she joked before falling into another endless instrumental jam session.
Melina by @samirashobeiri on Instagram
Interestingly enough, Jay Som is made up of many different astrological signs, even a Gemini! But the mastermind, Melina, is an Aries who loves to drink water. With the help of her astrologically compatible buddies, Jay Som took on a much fuller sound. Both of her albums were recorded independently in her bedroom, which gives them a unique charm that isn’t lost on stage. The backing band spent a lot of time jamming rather than singing and sticking to the typical format of what a band is typically expected to do during a concert. Jay Som seemed to enjoy their time on stage and provided a loud, shoegazed rhythm for the crowd to get down to. Seeing this set solidified them as one of my favorite up and coming acts. Melina is easy going and effortlessly cool at the front of the stage. My only teeny tiny complaint was that they didn’t play title track, “Everybody Works”. It was a really hard thing for me, my life is so hard because I didn’t get to hear my favorite Jay Som song. Yet, the quality of the whole set overall made it easy to forgive the band.
“It does smell like onions, kinda comforting,” the creative powerhouse of Japanese Breakfast commented as her band took the stage to close out the night. Joined by a full band that consisted of her husband, Peter Bradley (guitar), Deven Craige (bass), and Craig Hendrix (drums), Michelle Zauner waltzed onto stage with space buns and a white two-piece jumper, ready to wow the crowd that had waited all night to see her. Like Melina, Michelle seemed to relish the rush of being back on stage after a two month break from touring. She entertained the crowd with stories about how she was the fastest runner at her elementary school, but when middle school rolled around, it was “like gazelles and [she] was a tiny little meerkat scurrying along”. Although she’ll probably never compete in the Summer Olympics, I’m pretty sure none of those gazelles went on to sell out a majority of their West Coast tour.
Japanese Breakfast by Haley Parsons
Michelle alternated between playing guitar and battling the microphone cord as she roamed around the stage and sang. As she jumped from one side to the other and knelt to the audience, she frequently sang face to face with fans. Japanese Breakfast’s songs deal with the heavy subject matters of grief and failure, along with beauty and fantasy. But you’d never know she was singing about anything sad if you were a first time listener at a show because Michelle projects the happiest exterior when on stage. She has FUN and doesn’t take herself too seriously. Numbers like “Road Head” and “Boyish” provide an outlet for her to totally let loose and shake it with her fans. Eventually, after a slight set-list mix up, most of the band left the stage and Zauner played a couple of her slowest songs: the love ballad, “Till Death” and “Your Body is a Blade”, plus the heart wrenching, “This House”.
When the band returned, drummer Craig was surprised with a birthday cake as the whole venue sang to him and a present was passed up through the crowd for him. He opened it onstage and we all got to see that somebody had gifted Craig, the Aquarius, with a fancy bottle of scotch. After that brief, but wholesome intermission, the band finished with their banger “Everybody Want to Love You” and finally “Machinist”, during which the frontwoman jumped into the crowd to top off the experience. Like Melina of Jay Som, Michelle Zauner’s likeable personality and genuine passion for her music, the people she works with, and her fans made the concert experience entirely unique and guiltlessly enjoyable. The dream-pop act added a touch of electricity to their hazy sound at Neumos and we all left with full hearts.
Photo by Haley Parsons
~Side Note~ Michelle Zauner is a PNW’er and will playing Sasquatch in May, but not for the first time. She told the story of how she went to the festival in 2005 and saw Modest Mouse (who will also be at ‘Squatch this year), Arcade Fire, and Bloc Party. Unfortunately, she made the small mistake of skipping little known rapper, KANYE WEST’s set. So, I’m just saying, don’t make the same mistake and miss Jbrekkie’s set at the festival this year!
Be sure to check out all these fantastic female artists on Spotify and on all of their upcoming tours!
HALEY PARSONS | Rock’s not dead, it’s ruled by women! | KXSU Music Reporter