The last time Lucy Dacus was in NJ, it was as an opener at Northern Soul in Hoboken – a show that ended up being an unintentional a capella performance due to gear/sound problems. That was in 2016, shortly after the release of her debut LP No Burden. While that debut earned her widespread acclaim, Dacus put out an even bigger and more ambitious release in 2018’s Historian LP (on Matador Records). FYI, in her spare time, she also makes up one-third of the Divine Indie Trinity that is boygenius (her collaborative project with pals Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers). Now approaching the tail end of her national tour that kicked off last month, Dacus performed at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City on Wednesday, March 20th.
Starting off the night was British singer-songwriter Fenne Lily. While playing a relatively short set, her need to switch guitar tunings between every song gave her ample time to interact with the audience. One recent anecdote Lily shared is that she has difficulty chewing, so tour-mate Mal Blum offered to serve her a slice of pizza baby bird style. That’s friendship right there. Mal Blum (who once got mono from a microphone) followed up with a set that included some new songs that will (or won’t) be included on their (not yet announced) upcoming album that (maybe) will be released in July (but don’t count on it). Record labels can be funny about that kind of stuff, apparently.
At the start of her set, Dacus performed a new song titled “Fool’s Gold”. While she has already performed that song live numerous times, you’ll be hard pressed to find any audio/video evidence of it anywhere – she politely requested that nobody record that song and the audience faithfully obliged. That’s impressive. Her set mostly included songs from Historians (including “Addictions”, “The Shell”, and “Night Shift”), but she also played No Burden crowd favorites like “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore”. Lyrically, Dacus is poignant in a way that’s universally relatable in its themes and self-aware observations. Who wouldn’t relate to musings such as “you don’t have to be sad to make something worth hearing” (from “The Shell”) and “everybody else looks like they’ve figured it out” (from “Nonbeliever)?
Midway through the set, she performed her recently released cover of Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose” which is categorically (what the kids would call) a bop. Practice your French accent and sing along to the lyric video for “La Vie En Rose” below. For her encore, Dacus brought Fenne Lily back on stage to perform a cover of (Sandy) Alex G‘s “Bobby” before finishing out the night with a solo performance of a new song (title unknown).
Lucy Dacus has announced some additional US tour dates for May, but none in the area. If you’re quick, you just might still be able to get tickets to her show at Union Transfer in Philly on 3/21 (check here). Otherwise, she’ll be reuniting with boygenius when they play Woodstock 50 this coming August. You can find more info and the full lineup here.
Keep scrolling to see more photos from the show.
