Read previous – Big Thief at Union Transfer in Philly
Photos and words by Rosi Lamela
As many Big Thief fans know, Adrianne Lenker has a few solo albums and began her solo work before forming the band. I haven’t had the opportunity to see Big Thief live yet and thought I was going to her solo show in 2020, but nothing worked out until now. The show was finally rescheduled and I was able to attend her performance at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City on Tuesday, November 9th.
Upon arrival, I saw just a chair and a guitar. It’s been awhile since I had been to a show with such an intimate setting with the artist all alone on a big stage. I was told immediately by a fan that it would just be her vocals accompanied with a guitar. I was also told I was in for a good show.
Lutalo was the opener and he played his classical guitar with such grace as his lyrics brought people to silence. He shared with us that he was releasing his first EP soon and told us stories with such humbleness. The only title that was shared was the song “Snow” which I will be looking for when released. You can hear the song “Bad Man” on bandcamp (and Spotify) which sounds very different from the stripped down performance on Tuesday.
After Lutalo walked off the stage, the set was slightly changed to include a large art pad with the set list written on it, a notebook, and a coffee mug which were set on the floor. It looked like someone’s living room with one light coming down. When Adrianne came onto the stage the crowd roared and that was the moment you could hear the sold out show.
Adrianne Lenker’s vocals are what got me so into Big Thief. Her voice has such an original flavor and something about the way she belts out her lyrics has a sense of vulnerability in it. I also did not realize what a talented guitarist she is. She played her Martin with such ease and I was told that she is known to use a lot of different tunings which she switches back and forth throughout her performance. The silence in the hall was pretty unforgettable. Every once in a while you would hear chatter in the room and someone would immediately call out to make sure the room stayed silent.
She played some of my favorites like “not a lot, just forever” and “anything”. She told us stories about her introduction to the guitar at age 6 and how she moved to NYC and had to work dead-end jobs just to be able to buy instruments and form a band. She also played Big Thief songs which I did not expect. She played “Simulation Swarm”, “UFOF”, and “Cattails”. It was a great performance that left me wondering why I don’t go to many shows like these anymore. It also left me thinking why my own Martin guitar has been collecting dust.
Check out Adrianne Lenker’s latest music video for “forwards beckon rebound” below and keep scrolling to see more photos from the show.
