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Live Recap: Jade Bird Closes Out Her First US Headline Run with Field Report at Lincoln Hall

Jade Bird’s first US headlining run came to a close on Sunday at Lincoln Hall, with support coming from Field Report’s Christopher Porterfield. Porterfield took the stage this tour sans his usual bandmates, delivering rare stripped down, acoustic versions of songs that Field Report fans have become familiar with as their fully produced studio versions. “Jade brought me along for the banter and awkward laughter,” Porterfield joked between songs, but as he captivated the room with just his voice and his gentle guitar strumming, it was clear that he also had the impeccable songwriting skills and the musicianship to back up his witty showmanship. Throughout his hour long set that was filled with songs from Field Report’s latest album and even one he’d just written on the road, the audience showed their appreciation with their attentiveness and loud applause, and Porterfield made sure to thank them. “It’s really nice to be doing this with one another instead of at one another,” he said. While most of Porterfield’s talking points between songs remained lighthearted—like his story about hearing his song in Starbucks during one of his drives on this tour and the story of his participation in a John Prine tribute at Eaux Claires Festival— he made sure to use his platform for the better and encouraged everyone to vote and to be kind to each other before he left the stage. “Let’s encourage each other and be kind to each other.”

The positive vibes and friendly tone that Porterfield had set up during his performance lingered through the remainder of the night. Jade Bird first cut her teeth playing solo sets or playing support slots in The States, but on Sunday night, a packed house anxiously awaited her first go as the main act. Earlier in the day, Bird had played a solo in-store performance at American Eagle in the suburb of Oak Brook, and she began the show that evening on her own again for “What Am I Here For,” before inviting her band onstage. The delicate opening song had the immediately crowd hooked, but Bird really kept everyone engaged by easing them all in and gradually picking up the pace; throughout the night the audience remained on their toes as Bird switched between more mellow, sombre songs to bellowing, upbeat tunes. Right around the half way mark of the set, Bird’s bandmates left the stage again for her to perform a couple of songs on her own at the piano, including a cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” and the very sombre “If I Die.” Bird juxtaposed that mood by immediately following up the latter with her latest single “Uh Huh,” a cheeky anthemic song that really showcases the power behind Bird’s vocals. The rest of the set included a couple of new, unreleased songs and covers by The Bangles and Johnny Cash, highlighting the wide array of influences she pulls from. At this early stage in her career (Bird hasn’t even released her debut album yet), Bird demonstrates remarkable writing talent and incredible vocal control, allowing her to give her songs a full spectrum of dynamics; From her stunning soft vocals to her wailing growls, Jade Bird is a force to be reckoned with.

If you missed out on this last tour, stay tuned for new music from Jade Bird coming soon, and check out our photo gallery from the Chicago show.

Jade Bird Facebook + Instagram

Eaux Claires Day 2: The Highlights

The second day at Eaux Claires 2017 carried even more collaborations and improvisations, which make up the core of the festival. Although there had been a potential thunderstorm brewing all day, the rain held off until the evening, which is when the festival organizers had to improvise with the schedule. Tune in to find out which artists teamed up on Saturday, who played surprise sets, and how the fest made up for the change in schedule. 


The Creek Acted as a Collaboration Hub

Just like Day 1, The Creek stage opened on Saturday with a People Mixtape set. The second volume of People Mixtape remained instrumental and came across as a genuine jam session between friends (which is what a lot of the performances at Eaux Claires really are). After entrancing the group with the 1PM mixtape set, Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon returned to same stage only a couple of hours later, to perform as Big Red Machine. For this collaborative set, Dessner and Vernon were joined by even more of the acts playing the festival, like s-t-a-r-g-a-z-e and Mouse on Mars. With their jam-packed line up and debut of new music, Big Red Machine was able to draw a huge crowd to one of the festival's smaller stages. 

Eaux Claires curators Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner performing People Mixtape Vol. 2

Eaux Claires curators Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner performing People Mixtape Vol. 2

The Sad Saxes Joined This Is The Kit

This Is The Kit once again made it onto the highlights list. After an incredible performance at the Flambeaux stage on Day 1, This Is The Kit now moved their set into the woods at The Oxbeaux Stage on Saturday. Once again joined by Aaron Dessner, the three piece of Kate Stables, Rozi Plain, and Jamie Whitby-Coles were also joined by The Sad Saxes. Although the two groups were working together on the fly, with Stables at one point explaining to the saxophone choir how she envisioned their contribution, the collaboration paired perfectly and sounded well-rehearsed. At Eaux Claires, there's never any shortage of really talented musicians going with the flow to make something special together. At the end of the mesmerizing set, the crowd gave a standing ovation. 

Kate Stables of This Is The Kit performing at The Oxbeaux 

Kate Stables of This Is The Kit performing at The Oxbeaux 

Jenny Lewis Packed the Sparreaux Stage

Featured as an "Artist in Residence," Jenny Lewis was never officially on the 2017 lineup. On Friday, a set named "Jenny Lewis and Friends" appeared unannounced in the app, set to occur at 3:30 on one of the smallest stages, the Sparreaux stage. Well before the start of the set, an overflowing crowd camped out to be able to see this special, last-minute set. Lewis described herself and her friends as "Hawaiian psychedelic swing band" from Minneapolis, called Econo Lodge. The set opened with an improvised performance before moving into the crowd favorite "Just One Of The Guys."  

Jenny Lewis at her surprise set

Jenny Lewis at her surprise set

Feist Played Her Entire New Album 

Shortly before Feist was set to take the stage, Eaux Claires narrator Michael Perry took the stage to announce a change in schedule. "There's only one thing we care about more than art," he said, adding that they would be improvising some schedule changes due to safety concerns with the incoming storms. Feist ended up getting a 15 minute extension on her set, which she used to play her new album Pleasure from start to finish. Between the songs, Feist would explain her vision behind the lyrics and compositions, vividly describing one song as the chase scene in a movie. She ended her set by singing out her appreciation for the crowd and her excitement over seeing Paul Simon perform later. 

Feist performing before the rain hit

Feist performing before the rain hit

The App Revealed Paul Simon and yMusic's Set List

Paul Simon's set at the festival acted as the debut performance of a collaboration with yMusic. Although this set had originally been bumped up to 7:30 from 8:30 with the oncoming storms, a downpour hit the festival during Danny Brown's set. When Simon and the yMusic ensemble eventually took the stage around 8PM, the official festival app paired with the setlist, announcing the songs as they started. Similarly to Bon Iver's performance last year, festival goers were able to keep up with the order of songs in real time. 

Paul Simon performing with yMusic

Paul Simon performing with yMusic

The Festival Organized an After Party After Wilco 

The collaborations and surprises don't end there--Day 2 also featured a set from Field Report at The Decorum, and after a stunning performance from Wilco that closed out the festival, it was announced on Bon Iver's Twitter that some of the evening's cancelled performances from the smaller stages were being moved to the Lismore Hotel in downtown Eau Claire. Sets at The Lismore included Mouse on Mars and Velvet Negroni.  

Wilco closing out the night

Wilco closing out the night

While the festival may be over for this year, we'll soon be posting photo galleries and interviews with The Autumn Defense and This Is The Kit from the weekend. Stay tuned for those and start counting down the days until Eaux Claires 2018! 

Words and Photos by Rachel Zyzda

 

OXBEAUX 2017: A Prex Claires Kick Off At The Oxbow Hotel Featuring The Shouting Matches and More

Last night the town of Eau Claire got ready for the third annual Eaux Claires Festival (AKA TROIX) with four incredible bands, all performing in the parking lot of the new Oxbow Hotel. Kicking off the evening, EC’s very own trio Idle Empress took the stage promptly at 7:30 PM, playing a half hour set. Fronted by Laura Anderson, the band performed their hypnotizing indie tunes, Anderson’s haunting vocals striking the evening crowd. After a short stage change, Minneapolis’s DEM YUUT took the stage right around 8:20, the band’s frontman beginning to sing their opening song off stage. Their loop-heavy electronic-tinged indie music possessed traces of Sir Sly and The Neighbourhood influences, yet their songs all packed a refreshing and unique twist. Check them out next month on tour with Now, Now.

Taking us towards the end of the evening, Milwaukee’s own Field Report made their comeback on the Oxbow Hotel stage. Although the band mentioned it had been a while and they only recently started playing again after they’d been on hiatus, the four band members exuded a complete sense of comfort and ease playing together. Their performance had an air of effortlessness, yet it was still packed with passion and entranced the entire crowd. Closing out the night, The Shouting Matches graced the stage with one of their rare live performances. The legendary trio of Phil Cook, Brian Moen, and Justin Vernon became a foursome with musician Jill Heinke joining them onstage, and together they ended the evening in epic fashion. Although Cook and Vernon joked that they didn't practice much when they had to re-intro a song, their set had a magnetic, magical energy to it, similar to the vibes at Eaux Claires Festival. The crowd remained hooked and eager for more during The Shouting Matches 45 minute set, which acted as the perfect teaser for the weekend ahead. 

Check out our photo galleries of each of the bands at the OXBEAUX event last night, then keep your eyes on all of ANCHR's socials this weekend for more coverage of TROIX. 

Idle Empress


DEM YUUT


Field Report


The Shouting Matches