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Live Recap: Horsegirl with Lifeguard at Thalia Hall

August 17, 2023 / Dora Segall

A fellow photographer told me on August 13 that it was the most crowded he’d ever seen Thalia Hall for an all-ages event. The turnout for Horsegirl and Lifeguard’s final show of their tour was impressive, especially for a Sunday, but it made sense—both bands hail from Chicago, and many of their friends are finishing up summer break from high school or college close to home. The members of Lifeguard would soon be starting fall semester at Jones College Prep, which Horsegirl also attended.

“We love Horsegirl,” guitarist and vocalist Kai Slater said at the start of Lifeguard’s set. “It’s been amazing to tour with our best friends.”

Lifeguard’s opening set at Thalia Hall was high-energy, complete with explosive solos, raging vocals and full-body movement across the stage. The band’s setlist interwove recognizable hits with newer tracks, including several from an EP released just over a month ago. Several songs in, the band invited Horsegirl’s drummer Gigi Reece onstage.

“We’re going to play a Wipers cover, and Gigi’s going to solve a Rubik’s cube before it ends,” Slater addressed the audience. “It’s a minute and a half long. If they don’t finish in time, Horsegirl doesn’t get to play.”

Reece bopped from side to side and tinkered with the Rubik’s cube as Lifeguard surged through “Telepathic Love.” They held up the finished puzzle just as the band finished playing. Lifeguard had Reece stay on stage for the next song, “Fifty Seven,” to play maraca.

After Lifeguard’s set, Slater walked to the front of the stage and bent over to toss a couple sheets of notebook paper into the audience. His setlist fluttered into the audience, where a couple of fans snatched it and read with eager eyes.

Then Horsegirl came on stage to set up.

“I love you, Nora!” A voice shouted from the audience. The guitarist-vocalist smiled and waved.

Horsegirl brought more of a quiet brooding tone than Lifeguard. The band opened with “Bog Bog 1,” a slow and shoegazey instrumental from its 2022 album Versions of Modern Performance. The trio played a number of other hits from the LP, but they also introduced a number of new songs, including a catchy power ballad they penned in recent months. Horsegirl is in the midst of recording its next album, and the group’s set at Thalia Hall reflected more uptempo influences than those for their post-pandemic debut.

Horsegirl brought Lifeguard on stage at the end of their set for a joint encore.

“We came up with this idea yesterday,” bassist/guitarist and vocalist Penelope Lowenstein announced.

The idea was to cover “I Wanna Be Adored,” and It was hard to believe the groups hadn’t been rehearsing their performance for weeks. Nora Cheng’s voice was velvety and full, and the thick layers of guitar and bass reverberated perfectly over spacious drum lines. Concert-goers of all ages left the venue beaming.

See the full photo gallery of the show below, and see where you can catch Horsegirl next here.

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categories / Reviews, Music, Gigs
tags / Horsegirl, Lifeguard, Thalia Hall, Live Recap, Live Show, Chicago bands

Live Recap: Noah Kahan and Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners at The Vic

August 07, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

On the eve of Lollapalooza, I headed to The Vic Theatre to see a Lolla “after” show from Noah Kahan and Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners. Even though some of them take place ahead of the festival, Lolla aftershows are a great chance to catch artists from the festival’s lineup in a much more intimate environment than their fest sets, or even their own tour sets in most cases. Noah Kahan easily could have sold out The Aragon Ballroom or The Salt Shed, but we lucked out seeing him play the smaller Vic Theatre.

Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners warmed up the sold out crowd first with their folk-rock sound that complemented Kahan’s sound very well. The group was also slated to perform at Lolla over the weekend, and the lead singer Mitch Cutts told the crowd this was their first time in Chicago. Cutts also mentioned the band had just moved to Seattle from Montana, which is very fitting because their sounds feels heavily influenced by nature and would make for a great hiking soundtrack. Fan favorites from the 45-minute setlist included “Evergreen,” which has become very popular on Tik Tok and Cutts’ described as being “a large part of the reason we’re here,” as well as “Lake Missoula,” which has a version that features Mt.Joy.

After a quick changeover, it was nearly time for Noah Kahan and his bandmates to take the stage, and the venue was packed to the brim with eager fans. His bandmates entered the stage first, taking their places on stage and beginning to play before Kahan ran onstage himself to a greeting of excited cheers. As the band launched into “All My Love” from Kahan’s 2022 album Stick Season, it sounded as if Kahan had hired a choir with a built-in surround sound system because everyone instantly began to sing along. At every concert there’s usually one or two hits where every single person knows the words, but it’s incredibly special when there’s an artist that has an entire set of sing-along songs. The fact that The Vic reverberated with fans singing Kahan’s lyrics back to him is a testament to his songwriting craft—he can not only do an excellent job at storytelling, but his stories are so compelling that they resonate with so many people.

At his Lollapalooza aftershow, Kahan was just a few days out from having to cancel his appearance at Newport Folk Festival the weekend prior due to being ill and vocal strain, but the energy he put into the show wasn’t indicative of a recent illness at all. He not only sounded incredible, but he ran and jumped around the stage, displaying great camaraderie with his bandmates and reciprocating the energy that the audience was radiating.

Singing along to Kahan’s songs is definitely therapeutic in its own way, but the singer also took some time to tell the audience about his own experience with going to therapy between his songs. Before performing “Growing Sideways,” he talked about his first experiences with therapy, saying he used to lie in therapy to try to convince the people around him and himself that he was feeling better. “It wasn’t until I was in my 20’s—I’m only 26, and I know I look like I’ve been divorced— but I’m 26 years old and when I was 23 I started telling the truth and now I’m happier. I wrote a song about the years I spent lying, and it’s called "‘Growing Sideways’” he added. I think it takes a lot of courage to be honest with yourself about your feelings and therapy, but Kahan has been able to share part of his journey with the world and inspire others to continue to take care of their own mental health, which is even more admirable.

As I mentioned, the remainder of the set continued to be sing-along after sing-along, but there were a few moments, during the performance of “Northern Attitude” for example, where the venue literally shook from everyone clapping and singing along. Other highlights of the set included “Dial Drunk” and “Homesick,” which have been all over Tik Tok in the last year. The main part of the set wrapped with the latter, before Kahan and the band returned to play a 3-song encore that ended with the title track from his last album Stick Season.

If you get the chance to see Noah Kahan on tour this year, don’t miss it. It’s good for the soul.

Check out photos of the Lollapalooza aftershow below, and see where you can catch Noah on tour next here.

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categories / Gigs, Festival, Music, Photos, Reviews
tags / Noah Kahan, Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners, Lollapalooza, Lolla, Lolla aftershow, The Vic, Photo Set, Concert Review, Live Recap, Live Show

Live Recap: Andrew Bird with Nora O'Connor and Uwade at Out of Space

August 04, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

Out of Space Festival continued on Sunday with Andrew Bird, Nora O’Connor and Uwade.

Evanston’s own Nora O’Connor kicked off the evening, describing herself as the “warmy upy girl”—which, to be fair, is in fact what she was doing, but her boundless talent deserves more credit than that! Most of her set featured songs from her latest album, 2022’s My Heart, but she did throw in some songs from further back in her discography like 2004’s “Nightingale.” O’Connor also shared with the crowd that she used to tour around in a van with Andrew Bird, and (spoiler alert) we got to witness a more collaboration between the two later on in the evening.

Singer songwriter Uwade was up next, and it was nice to see her again after I’d first been introduced to her supporting Fleet Foxes at Salt Shed last year. She started her set out solo before eventually being joined by her bassist. Before playing her touching song “The Man Who Sees Tomorrow,” the singer dedicated it to her late father and shared that he used to call himself “the man who sees tomorrow.” Another highlight of Uwade’s set included her cover of “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” by Fleet Foxes, who she has collaborated with in the past.

Next up, Andrew Bird took the stage for the main event, joined by his bassist and drummer. His set began with an instrumental introduction, which also featured Bird’s signature whistling (I mean, it makes sense if your last name is “Bird” that you’d whistle a lot!) Bird also started on the violin for the first part of his set for songs like “Make a Picture” and “Lone Didion,” but he switched over to playing guitar for other parts of the set.

Before performing a cover of “Harvest” by Neil Young, Bird welcomed Nora O’Connor back to the stage and their vocals meshed incredibly well together. O’Connor leant her vocals to several other songs in the set, including “Lusitania” and fan-favorite “Sisyphus”—which features more melodic whistling. Just before the encore, Bird began to wind down the set with “Armchairs” from the 2007 album Armchair Apocrypha, introducing it by saying, “We’re gonna do a song I haven’t done in quite a while but I thought of it today.” The song transitioned seamlessly into another fan favorite “Pulaski at Night,” which is a hometown anthem for Chicagoans.

See photos from the evening below, and see where you can catch Andrew Bird on tour next here.

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categories / Reviews, Photos, Music, Gigs, Festival
tags / Andrew Bird, Uwade, Nora O'Connor, Out of Space, Space, Music Festival

Live Recap: Regina Spektor with Allison Russell and Elizabeth Moen at Out of Space

August 03, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

The annual Out of Space festival returned to Canal Shores Golf Course in Evanston, IL and ANCHR attended the third day of the fest with headliner Regina Spektor.

Chicagoan, via Iowa, Elizabeth Moen warmed up the Saturday crowd with a solo set. Moen gave me a little bit of Stevie Nicks vibes. Maybe even Riley Keough as Daisy Jones, who was inspired by Nicks. She dedicated her third song of her set “Songbird” to Allison Russell, who Moen told the crowd inspired her to start writing and performing.

Speaking of Allison Russell, she and her band—or “goddess circle” as she called them, played the second support set. Russell had a very zen, meditative introduction but the pace quickly picked up and Russell got to show off her soulful, powerhouse vocals. Her vocals gave me full body goosebumps, and I was so impressed with the chemistry between her and her bandmates. They truly seemed like they were having the best time on stage, which was infectious and put a smile on my face.

For the main event, Regina Spektor took the stage just as the sun had gone down. The night prior, there had been a torrential downpour, so Regina told the crowd she had an urge from “Jewish grandmothers” to tell the crowd to wear good shoes that day to deal with the mud.

Another joy of the show taking place outdoors was that there were lots of trees. Spektor joked about that as well, saying she’d asked for less reverb during sound check and was told it was “treeverb.” Still, her vocals sounded incredible and the golf course had surprisingly good acoustics to show off her expansive vocal range. Spektor’s vocal talent remained on display for the entirety of the show, but she played her song “Baby Jesus” early on in the show, which highlighted her ability to go from deep, low vocals to quippy falsettos in just one song.

Spektor is obviously known for her spectacular talent as a pianist, but she was able to mix in percussive elements for some of her songs as well. For the song “Better,” she used a drumstick and a chair as makeshift drums. From start to finish, Spektor kept us all completely enthralled, which is quite the feat for a fully solo performance. Towards the end of the show, Spektor followed up her hit “Fidelity” with a dedication to the late Sinéad O’Connor and a performance of “One More Time With Feeling” before wrapping up with the song “Samson.”

See photos of the entire show below, and stay tuned for coverage of Andrew Bird at Out of Space the following night.

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categories / Reviews, Photos, Music, Gigs, Festival
tags / Elizabeth Moen, Allison Russell, Regina Spektor, Out of Space, SPACE, Music Festival, Photography, Live Review, Live Recap

Live Recap: Kurt Vile with Finom at Millennium Park

July 28, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

Following a fun, music-packed weekend at Pitchfork Music Festival, I kept the good times rolling with a show from Kurt Vile and Finom at Millennium Park.

The Millennium Park free summer concert series is always a great time to take in the sights of the city and soak in some excellent music. The Chicago based duo Finom (FKA Ohmme), featuring Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart, took the stage first. This was my first time seeing them since the name change, but they sounded as great as ever. Stewart and Cunningham were joined onstage by fellow Chicago musicians V.V. Lightbody and Spencer Tweedy. Cunningham told the crowd that they were working on some new music and previewed it for the crowd that night. In addition to the unreleased material, we also got to hear some Finom familiar favorites like “Icon” and “Water,” which features stunning, harmonized vocalizations that showcase the musical compatibility between Stewart and Cunningham.

Kurt Vile and his bandmates hit the stage after a quick changeover, with the first half of the setlist heavily featuring songs from the 2022 album (watch my moves) like “Palace of OKV in Reverse” and “Hey Like A Child.” After performing a couple of songs, Kurt told the crowd they were beautiful and started singing the throwback “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt. He also told the crowd he was happy to be there playing the park for a free show, adding “But I feel like I should have done it years before.” The singer introduced another song from his 2022 record “Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone),” saying he was going to take us to his house now.

As we got into the latter part of Kurt Vile’s set, a heartbreaking yet very touching moment happened; a young fan came up to the front with a poster that read “Yesterday Was The Anniversary of My Dad’s Death. You Were His Favorite.” Kurt acknowledged the sign while performing and the audience applauded loudly in support of her. This moment was a great reminder not to take life for granted, and that music can create such a special bond and help with healing from grief. After finishing the set, Kurt even came down from the stage to talk to the girl, and take a photo with her. I hope the concert was a special way for her to honor and celebrate her dad’s memory.

Check out photos from the concert below, and see where you can catch Kurt Vile next here.

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categories / Gigs, Music, Photos, Reviews
tags / Kurt Vile, Finom, Chicago, Jay Pritzker Pavillion, Millennium Park Concert Series

Sunday Recap: Pitchfork Music Festival 2023

July 25, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

Pitchfork Fest wrapped up on Sunday, July 23rd, starting with Ariel Zetina and closing with Bon Iver on the Green Stage. We lucked out with the weather on day 3, but read on below for more highlights and the full photo gallery

I arrived to Union Park around 2:00 PM on the third day of Pitchfork Fest to a sleepy, Sunday atmosphere. As Rachika Nayar performed her ambient, experimental music, I saw festival-goers relishing in a lazy kick off—some even dozing off on the field, gently easing into another full day of music.

The gentleness of the music continued with Lucrecia Dalt, another experimental musician, over on the Green stage. Dalt was joined by a percussionist who helped bring her songs to the stage with a multitude of instruments, including bongos and a cowbell. Dalt currently lives in Berlin, but she originally hails from Columbia, so her lyrics are sung in Spanish. Although I didn’t catch the meaning of the words (my high school Spanish is rusty), I still very much appreciated the ambience of her music.

Florist, the project of Emily Sprague and bandmates Rick Spataro, Jonnie Baker, and Felix Walworth, took the Blue stage next. The band continued the mellow vibes as they played their songs like “Red Bird Pt. 2(Morning)” and “Feathers.” As I was watching their set, I noticed a couple of people in the crowd sitting in a meditative pose, and honestly, Florist makes great music to meditate to.

The festival line up seemed to go from zero to sixty next when English duo Jockstrap hit the stage. In stark contrast to the earlier performances, Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye brought massive energy along with their electro-pop and glitch sounds. Ellery glided around the stage and the crowd danced along with her, as the music was so loud and full of chest-shattering bass. Jockstrap’s show was exactly the surge that the crowd needed to make it past the Pitchfork Fest finish line.

If Jockstrap’s set was like getting woken up by an alarm clack, then JPEGmafia’s set was like getting a bucket of ice cold water dumped on you when you’re dead asleep (in the best way possible). Every time I’ve seen JPEGmafia, the massive energy that he is able to bring as one performer is matched tenfold by the crowd, making his sets something really special to witness. The crowd welcomed him with the usual “Peggy!” chant, and before the first song was even done, JPEG had jumped onto the speakers to get closer to the audience. Throughout the set, JPEG never remained in one place for too long— he was either zipping around the stage, leaping from speaker to speaker, or running down the center barricade to be face to face with fans. Another highlight of his performance was his cover of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.”

JPEGmafia, or “Peggy” as is fans call him, performing

Soul Glo played over on the Blue stage around the same time, and similar to the previous two sets, they really amped up the energy. From the moment the bandmates Pierce Jordan, GG Guerra, and TJ Stevenson took the stage and Jordan started screaming, the first mosh pit I’d seen that weekend commenced. I’d say Soul Glo was definitely the set that surprised me the most this weekend, as I originally expected them to be soulful R&B and was instead smacked in the face with the most hardcore punk band of the festival. Yet again, it was a great way to keep the energy soaring high towards the end of the weekend.

Illuminati Hotties also rocked the Blue Stage a little later that afternoon, performing their cheeky and carefree punk music. Illuminati Hotties is the project of musician, songwriter, and producer Sarah Tudzin, and Tudzin was joined by bandmates Tim Kmet, Sapphire Jewell, Zach Bilson. The bandmates had great chemistry together, which made their show even more entertaining to watch.

Keeping up with the theme of fun and carefree, Hurray for the Riff Raff performed next on the Blue stage. As you’d expect for a band with “Hurray” in the title, the band’s set felt like a feel-good celebration. Songwriter, musician, and lead vocalist Alynda Segarra and her bandmates all had glitter highlighter on their face in the place of war paint. What’s not to love about glitter war paint?!

I caught a few minutes of Kelela closing out the Red stage for the weekend with her silky vocals and flowing dance moves before jumping over to the Blue stage again for Mdou Moctar. Moctar and his bandmates brought cheerful vibes and facilitated such a community setting as they absolutely shredded on guitar. Moctar often looked out into the audience with so much appreciation, and the audience returned the admiration by clapping in time to the beat or raising their hands together in synchronization.

Bon Iver ended the fest on a high note, putting on my favorite set of the weekend. Justin Vernon was joined by a full band, including a backup vocalist, to perform songs from across Bon Iver’s catalog. Vernon’s vocals sounded incredible, and during some of the older songs like “Blood Bank” (my personal favorite), they did some minor change ups on the arrangements, refreshing the song from the recorded version. Unsurprisingly, the crowd favorite was the massive hit “Skinny Love” from 2008’s For Emma, Forever Ago, but we also heard tracks from every Bon Iver era through 2019’s i,i. The musical performance was also complemented by stunning light design.

Check out photos from day three below, and be sure to read coverage of day 1 and day 2 of Pitchfork Fest 2023.

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categories / Festival, Gigs, Music, Photos, Reviews
tags / Pitchfork, Pitchfork Music Festival, Lucrecia Dalt, Florist, Jockstrap, Bon Iver, Kelela, Soul Glo, Mdou Moctar, Hurray for the Riff Raff, JPEGmafia, Illuminati Hotties

Live Recap: Regina Spektor's Return to London at Royal Festival Hall

July 19, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

It’s around 8PM on Saturday night, July 15th and singer-songwriter Regina Spektor has just taken the stage at the pristine Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre. A seated auditorium sitting just along the River Thames, the venue had a stern air of formality about it, but Spektor quickly lightened up the mood by asking the audience “Can we just pretend we’re at a basement pub and chill the fuck out?”

I wasn’t quite sure what type of energy to expect from the musician playing a solo show (her first show in London in six years), but her opening statement quickly lightened the mood and set up a tone for a relaxed show as she began to play her song “Folding Chair” to follow up her introductory performance of “Shalom Aleichem” (a song centered around the Hebrew greeting meaning "peace be upon you.”)

Early on in the set, Spektor also let the audience know that she’d recently suffered a back injury, but a friend of hers had helped her recover from the injury enough to push on with the shows. Considering she was injured and carrying out these shows with just herself, a microphone and her piano, I figured the show might lean on the shorter side, but Spektor dazzled the audience with a nearly two-hour performance that featured songs from across her long discography.

Spektor’s stage presence was a beautiful balance of a rehearsed performance mixed with the casual nature of friends jamming together—similar to the laidback vibes of a basement pub gig. When she messed up a part of the piano (to be honest, I wouldn’t have even noticed the slip if she hadn’t called it out), Spektor told the crowd “I practiced! The hotel people are probably mad at me [from practicing so much]. We’ll just skip that part!” She also told the audience she was going to try her song “Somedays” even though she wasn’t confident in it, but she managed to play it successfully. Afterwards, Spektor joked that she felt like a “kindergartner with a finger painting.”

While she may have jokingly minimized her craft, Spektor continued to enchant the audience with her sweeping vocal performance and dynamic manner of playing the piano; there were times her vocals were theatrical and times that she’d hammer on the top of the piano or clap to add a percussive element to her melodies. The crowd joined in on the clapping for those moments when makeshift drums were needed.

Speaking of crowd participation, around half way through the show, Spektor told the audience that standing up and squatting made her back feel better, asking everyone, “Will you guys get mad if I do three squats?” She invited the crowd to join her, and myself and the majority of the audience stood up to squat along with the singer. “I think the pub became a gym,” Spektor joked.

To give herself a break from sitting at the piano, Spektor stood up to perform a couple of light-hearted A capella songs “Reginasaurus” and “Silly Eye-Color Generalizations.” Another non-piano moment included a surprise guest appearance from musician and producer Leo Abrahams, who joined Spektor to play a few songs on guitar.

Eventually, Spektor wrapped up the main part of her show with her huge hit “Fidelity,” which she introduced saying “This one I should know in theory, but theory and practice are different.” That may be true, but she knocked the performance of the song out of the park, earning a standing ovation from the entire auditorium at the end of the song.

Spektor returned for a single-song encore of her song “Samson,” also on her 2006 album Begin to Hope.

If you missed out on the show, check out photos from the performance below, and see where you can catch Regina Spektor on tour near you here.

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categories / Reviews, Photos, Gigs, Music
tags / Regina Spektor, London, Royal Festival Hall, Live Show, Live Review, Live Recap, Photo Set, Concert Photography

Live Recap: Bastille's Bad Blood X Tour Resurrects Their Landmark Album

July 18, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

“Every day it passes, faster than the last did, and you’ll be old soon, you’ll be old.”- “Weight of Living, Pt. II” by Bastille. These lyrics about the passage of time as you get older rang true for me back in 2013 when Bastille first released their debut album Bad Blood, but they definitely hit even harder when you realize the album is now 10 years old. A decade that felt both fleeting and like a lifetime.

To celebrate this decade landmark of their number one album, Bastille members Dan Smith, Chris “Woody” Wood, Kyle Simmons, and Will Farquarson announced last year that they’d embark on a“Bad Blood X” summer tour around the UK, kicking off Friday, June 30th at Newmarket Racecourses and ending July 23rd at Ludlow Castle. The premise of the tour (you guessed it) being that the band plays their entire debut album in full at these gigs, along with a few other fan favorites from their discography.

As someone who has been a fan of the band for over ten years (fun fact: I saw them perform for the first time on Bastille Day in 2013), the news of the tour conjured up waves of nostalgia and memories of seeing the group perform this album on the original Bad Blood tour(s) in venues ranging from Lincoln Hall in Chicago to Radio City Music Hall in New York. I got the chance to attend their Bad Blood X show in Leeds on July 13th, which was the eve of Bastille Day and the release of the 10 year anniversary edition of the record.

The sold out show took place at Millennium Square in the heart of Leeds, with support from Etta Marcus and Orla Gartland. Singer-songwriter Marcus took the stage first with her 4-piece band to perform a handful of songs, including “Smile” and “Salt Lake City.” The latter got a big cheer and applause from a few fans who had traveled from Salt Lake City to attend the Bastille tour. I’d recommend listening to Etta Marcus if you’re a fan of Faye Webster, Samia, or Julia Jacklin.

Orla Gartland took the stage next with her drummer and bass player, who were rocking Harry Styles and Taylor Swift t-shirts respectively. Gartland had supported Bastille at two earlier gigs on the tour, and it was clear she’d already gained some new fans in the Bastille community, as I saw several fans singing along to her songs like “Pretending” and “Why Am I Like This?” Gartland introduced the latter saying “This is a song about basically being in your own head” and the song seemed to be a crowd favorite. Towards the end of her set, the singer had everyone in the crowd singing along when she did a medley of different cover songs, including bits of “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

With the crowd properly warmed up by Marcus and Gartland, the crew got to work setting the stage for the main event. The Bad Blood X stage included street lamps on either end and other bits reminiscent of their OG Bad Blood era, including a hoodie with a wolf on it and Converse shoes that lead singer Dan Smith used to wear during those early days of touring. Just before 8:45PM, the onstage screen flashed an introductory scrawl of “Bad Blood X” in Smith’s handwriting before fading into a montage of video clips from previous tours. While fans eagerly awaited the band to enter the stage, they saw moments ranging from celebrating Woody’s birthday to Will asking the band if they know how to say “goodbye” in Dutch to a younger Dan singing their hit “Pompeii.” The video clip of “Pompeii” transitioned into the band entering the stage and launching into playing the anthemic tune, which felt a little surreal to hear as the first song of the night. I’m pretty sure every time I’ve seen Bastille, they’ve closed with “Pompeii”— but with playing the album in full, fans got to hear it at the start of the set this time.

Next up on both the album and setlist; “Things We Lost in the Fire,” which saw the entire audience clapping in time to the drumbeat of the chorus. After this song, Kyle Simmons addressed the crowd to let them know from time to time they’d be seeing old “embarrassing” videos of their early tour days up on the screen, which were captured by their friend and videographer Tom Middleton. Simmons also mentioned that he and Smith had studied at University of Leeds, which added to the full circle moment and fit the theme of revisiting a part of your past life.

Following the performance of the album’s title track, the audience got another stroll down memory lane with another clip from Middleton’s tour archive. The clip revealed an unglamorous moment of touring; changing a flat tire on the way to a gig. These interludes of past tour footage occurred a few more times throughout the show, but the most beloved seemed to be the video of Farquarson getting a tattoo of the words “Bad Blood” in Texas to commemorate the album going to number one on the charts, which got a loud laugh from the audience.

The video interludes weren’t the only moments of the Bad Blood portion of the set that nodded to the band’s past. They made sure to bring back many traditions tied to these songs —for example, Woody left his drum set to come to the front of the stage to lead the crowd in swaying their arms during “Overjoyed” and holding up their cell phone lights during “Oblivion.” One tradition that has remained since day one is what has been deemed the “Flaws walk” by fans—which is when Smith hops off the stage during the performance of their first single “Flaws” to walk and dance his way through the audience. The song has remained a staple in their setlist, even on the tour for their fourth album Give Me The Future, so Smith has kept up the Flaws walk for years. On the night of the Leeds show, Smith started on the house right side of the crowd, made his way all the way to the back of the square, and re-entered on the left side. Quite the feat considering the size of the audience and the venue, but Smith has always impressed me with his ability to maneuver through frenzied crowds. Smith also impressed me with his ability to jump up and down while singing just as much as he did in the early days, but I did notice he swapped out his Converse shoes for more sensible New Balances.

Bastille’s performance of their debut album on this tour wasn’t just a redo of their early songs, it was a revival and a chance for them to breathe new life into the music they once performed as novices, now as seasoned performers. While they still had plenty of callbacks to their beginning days in 2013-2014, the 2023 tour also introduced more advanced production aspects and more live band members, including multi-instrumentalist Charlie Barnes (who has been a touring member of Bastille since 2015) and vocalists Bim Amoako and Senab Adekunle.

Another pleasant change with touring Bad Blood 2.0 was the addition of the song “Weight of Living Pt. I” to the setlist. Before playing the song to close out the first part of the set, Smith told the crowd that this track “really dates” the album because it was a hidden bonus track on the record, which isn’t a common feature on records nowadays. Prior to this tour, Bastille had only played Pt. I of “Weight of Living” a handful of times—the first time being in 2017, well after the album’s original tours. The live version of this song sounded incredible with extra vocal support from Bim and Senab.

Kyle Simmons, Dan Smith, and Charlie Barnes of Bastille

The entire band left the stage at this point, returning promptly to perform other fan favorites for part two of their set. A graphic on the screen reading “Beyond Bad Blood” marked the transition into music from other eras. “Good Grief” and “Send Them Off!” from their second album Wild World were both featured during this portion—the latter being fan-voted by a poll on the band’s Instagram Stories the morning of the gig. “The Draw,” which was a song featured on the (super) extended version the debut album called All This Bad Blood, had been played by Bastille on past tours, but this time around fans got to see Smith perform it on guitar, giving it a little extra edginess. We also saw Smith on guitar for the performance of the band’s 2020 single “WHAT YOU GONNA DO???”—but the real star of the show during that song was Barnes, whose showmanship was on full display as he jumped and flipped around the stage.

Smith then addressed the audience to tell them they’d like to “finish with a party” before launching into their hit collaboration with Marshmello “Happier.” Smith stood up onto the barricade rail for this song, balancing on it like a tightrope as he walked from one end to another, at one point holding the microphone out to a fan to sing part of the chorus. The party vibes continued with “Million Pieces” from their album Doom Days, which Smith introduced by saying “This is our attempt at a rave song, but as usual it has to be about the world fucking falling apart.”

Smith walking along the barricade during “Happier”

True to their word, Bastille rounded off the set with pure party vibes by playing “Of The Night” and “Shut Off The Lights.” During their performance of the former (which is a mashup cover of 90’s tunes “Rhythm is a Dancer” and “Rhythm of the Night”) Smith once again recalled a tried and true tradition at their shows by asking everyone to crouch down just before the chorus, then jump up and down with him during the chorus. During the final song of the show, Smith and his bandmates sang “shut off the lights, we don’t need them to dance” and dance we did.

After all the dancing I did at this show, I found myself in McDonald’s afterwards with several other concert attendees getting their post-gig fuel. The best conversation I overheard while waiting for food was a man singing “they put the chips in the fryer fryer fryer” to the tune of “Things We Lost in the Fire.”

A wise band once said “does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?” And with Bad Blood X, the changes are there with the increase in the size of their fan base, the newest live band member additions, the more supportive sneakers, and Smith’s stage demeanor, but the changes signify growth and the joy of living. Here’s to hoping we see the band when they’re older and full of (more) stories to be told for Bad Blood XX.

If you missed out on the shows in the UK, the band will be playing one US show for Bad Blood X in Los Angeles on August 25th. Check out all of their upcoming tour dates here, and see the full gallery of the Leeds show below.

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categories / Photos, Reviews, Gigs, Music
tags / Bastille, Bad Blood, Bad Blood X, Leeds, Etta Marcus, Orla Gartland, Live Recap, Live Review, Concert Photography, Photography, Photos

Take the Moment and Taste It: A Live Recap of Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour at Ford Field

June 13, 2023 / Rachel Zyzda

Picture this; you’re standing in a sold out stadium surrounded by sparkling and sequined-out Swifities, getting ready to watch Taylor Swift perform an over-3-hour show—*record scratch, freeze-frame* You’re probably wondering how we got here. Cut to Taylor Swift sitting at the piano, mid-Evermore set, telling the audience about the many albums she released since her last tour and during quarantine (Lover, Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights). “People were like ‘Are you sure you want to put all these albums out? You won’t be able to tour on the individual album and there’s so many albums you’ve made and you haven’t been able to tour’ and I was like, I have a plan. It’s called The Eras Tour,” she told the crowd, revealing the mastermind scheme behind her current tour that started March 17th in Glendale, AZ and will wrap up the U.S leg on August 9th in Los Angeles, CA.

Rewinding the clock back a few hours, it’s around 5 PM on Saturday, June 10th and I’ve just arrived at Ford Field in Motown (aka Detroit) following a road trip from Chicago, where the Eras Tour had just stopped the previous week for three sold out shows. As I make my way into the stadium, I’m surrounded by a sea of fellow fans ready to witness the second and final night of Swift’s shows in Detroit. While I trek through the massive venue to my seat, I observe all of the stunning and clever outfits that the audience is sporting; there’s everything from elaborate hand-sewn costumes modeled off of some of Taylor’s iconic Grammy Awards show looks to jewel-coloured sequins in every hue to funny shirts that say “It’s me, hi, I’m the husband, it’s me” (which were being rocked by several supportive Swiftie hubbies). There was a mix of excitement and anxiety in the air, like the entire crowd was holding their breath until the show they’d been anticipating for more than six months would finally kick off. While fans anxiously awaited for the support acts to warm up the stage, many were either standing in the (very long) merch lines throughout the venue, or watching some of the behind-the-scenes footage from music video shoots that was being played on the stage’s screen.

Around 6:25 PM, the stadium lights dimmed and singer-songwriter OWENN took the stage. OWENN started off his entertainment career as a dancer and choreographer working with many well-known artists, including none-other than Taylor Swift herself when he danced with her on the 1989 and Reputation tours and starred in the “Lover” music video. Regardless of his rich history with Swift, OWENN quickly won over the audience during his short-but-sweet set while he played a handful of his songs, including “Baby Girl,” “Show Me,” and “Rest Of My Life.” Fans showed their appreciation by holding up their cell-phone lights and swaying during some of the songs. Before he left the stage, OWENN made sure to thank Taylor for having him on the tour, saying, “She could've chose anyone, but she chose me. I’m so thankful to Taylor.”

After a very quick turnaround time, Norwegian musician Marie Ulven Ringheim, better known as Girl in Red, came in hot, opening up her set with the song “You Stupid Bitch.” Many of the audience members stood up from their seats and joined Girl in Red by dancing and singing the words to the upbeat song. Ringheim primed the crowd for the rest of her performance, saying, “I was here last night and what I witnessed [from Taylor] was fucking fantastic. I’m gonna give you the 1% that I can do of her show.” Girl in Red’s set length might have only been a sliver of the stage time that Swift had, but I’d say she gave it a whole lot more than 1%-- Ringheim completely captivated the stadium, running around the massive stage as she performed songs like “Bad Idea” and “Serotonin.” In the latter track, Ringheim sings “I'm running low on serotonin,” but that statement couldn’t have been less true for everyone in attendance, based on the beaming smiles I saw around me. “It’s been a pleasure. I’m Girl in Red, thank you to my band, crew, and Taylor. She is the coolest person in the world and I can’t wait to see her show again,” Ringheim told the crowd to wrap up her performance.

At this point, the room swelled with palpable anticipation. During the final changeover before the main event, fans hurried to top up their refreshments or take pictures in front of the Eras Tour backdrop on the stage. Finally, the song “Applause” by Lady Gaga rang out through the house speakers and the screen onstage began to display a countdown clock that started at 2 minutes and 23 seconds. The clock ticked down second by second, in a moment that both felt like a lifetime and a quick blink of an eye, and fans screamed along with the final ten seconds.

And just like that, right before 7:55 PM, Swift’s dancers appeared onstage carrying a bouquet of pastel-colored parachutes while an introductory medley of her catalog played through the speakers. Donning a glistening bodysuit and matching boots, the singer emerged from behind the parachutes to sing out the opening lines of “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” as the start of her Lover portion of the show. Fittingly, the chorus of the track begins with the lyrics “It’s been a long time coming,” making it the perfect song to open a tour that’s been five years in the making. The set moved onto the hit “Cruel Summer” next, a song that everyone scream-sang along to– especially during the bridge. Leading up to that iconic moment of the song, Taylor told the audience, “Detroit, we have arrived! The very first bridge of the evening. Now what do we do when we arrive at a bridge such as this, Detroit? Oh, we scream it!” Throughout the show, Taylor’s musical performance was complemented by beautiful and often-complex visual aids that appeared both on the background screen and stage itself, but that wasn’t all that this show delivered. Taylor, as well as her dancing crew, often mixed in theatrical elements into the performance. A prime example of this was done before she performed the third song of the night, “The Man.” Swift told the audience that they were making her feel “very powerful” and like “I get to play a sold out show at Ford Field” as she kissed her biceps and slipped on a blazer, mimicking the power play that society often attributes towards men. In just these first few moments of the show, Swift’s movements were already creating a physical representation of her songwriting, a theme that continued throughout every era. During this first portion, fans also got to hear “You Need to Calm Down,” “The Archer,” and of course, the album’s title track. Before singing “Lover,” Swift gave a detailed thank you to her support acts, recalling her history with OWENN and telling everyone how much she loves Girl in Red’s last album. The additional details in her appreciation for the support is just one of the ways that Swift showcased the dedication and thoughtfulness she poured into this tour. While the tour dancers slow-danced around the stage, the audiences’ wristbands light up like glistening Christmas lights, almost like an homage to the song’s opening lyrics “We can leave the Christmas lights up til January.”

Taylor Swift performing “Lover” // Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

To signify the transition into the next era, the stage backdrop displayed a golden rain shower to get the audience feeling fearless. During this seamless transition, Swift quickly changed her outfit backstage to one that was reminiscent of her look during the original Fearless timeframe in 2008 (we of course got Taylor’s version of the record in 2021). Swift performed the album’s title track to kick off this portion, playing the song on a silver gem-bedazzled acoustic guitar that matched her dress. The stage itself also coordinated with this theme– the graphics displayed the image of an acoustic guitar in the center of the stage floor. The 3-song Fearless era of the show also contained “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story,” both of which had the crowd scream-singing along.

Next, the timeline jumped all the way to 2020 for Evermore, the second album that Taylor released that year as a sort of sister album to Folklore. To signify the whimsical, witchy nature of this record, the visual transition displayed images of a dark forest. Swift performed “'tis the damn season” wearing an orange and gold dress, eventually adding on a winter-green cloak for the second song of this set, “willow.” The woodsy visual effects evolved throughout the Evermore moment, at some points casting the illusion of fire and at other times displaying snow-covered trees. No matter what was happening on the screen behind Taylor and her crew, the production elements were so well done that it left little to the fans’ imaginations– we were all able to experience the scenes that Taylor paints for us with her words right there on the stage. Most of the songs that Swift performed from Evermore have a toned-down, folksy mood that meant fans were just regularly singing along (and not scream-singing along). That is, until we got to the bridge of “champagne problems,” one of the album’s singles that Swift performed on a custom-decorated piano that fits with the forest aesthetic. Before we got back to the scream-singing part of the set, Taylor took a break to talk to the audience again, letting us know she was recovering from a “tiny cold” and recalling the very first time she performed at Ford Field, back in 2006 when she sang the National Anthem before a Detroit Lions game. Despite still recovering from that cold, Swift’s vocals sounded strong and stunning throughout the show, even during the more vulnerable moments like her piano performances. Back to “champagne problems,” the audience gave the bridge of that song their all, yelling the lyrics “‘She would've made such a lovely bride/What a shame she's fucked in the head,’ they said” back to Taylor. The enthusiasm of the crowd in that moment didn’t go unnoticed; after finishing the song, Swift surveyed the room with tearful eyes filled with gratitude. The moment of gratitude was met with the audience chanting “Taylor!” to which the singer said “You guys are such nice people, thank you so much.”

Taylor Swift in her Evermore Era// Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

The Evermore set ended with a dramatic performance of the ballad “tolerate it” before moving into what I consider to be the most epic transition of the night. To signify the jump to 2017 for the Reputation album, flashes of a hissing snake appeared on the stage’s screen, while sounds of echoing high-heel clacks poured out of the speakers. Not only is Reputation a highly-adored album in the fanbase, but the shift into these songs also meant an uptick in the overall tempo of the music from the previous set, and you could feel the audience’s excitement to pick up the pace. The set kicked off with the album’s opening track “...Ready For It?” which the crowd loudly confirmed they were, in fact, ready for it with overbearing screams. Taylor launched into the quick-tempoed first verse of the song and the hype built up even more. Next up in this era, Swift performed one of my all-time favorites “Delicate.” It’s become a tradition for fans to yell “1,2,3 let’s go bitch!” right after the introduction of the song before the first main verse, and Taylor fed into that tradition by counting up to 3 with her hand ahead of the chant. Other highlights of the Rep set included the pinnacle of “Don’t Blame Me,” when Swift hits her signature high note (again, while being ill!) and the bridge of the ultimate revenge track “Look What You Made Me Do.”

“In my *Reputation* Era”/ Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

The high-energy bled into the quickest of all of the eras sets, Speak Now, which was solely represented by the song “Enchanted.” Despite being only one-song, this moment was still pivotal in the performance. The lyrics “This night is sparkling, don't you let it go” pretty much sum up the magic of this Eras tour. Also, Speak Now was originally released in 2010, but Taylor announced during her show in Nashville earlier in the tour that the Taylor’s Version of the record will be released on July 7, 2023, so there may be more of this album showcased during the last leg of the tour following the re-release.

Speaking of re-releases, the next segment of the show took us back to 2012 if we’re talking about the original…But if we’re talking Taylor’s Version, the timeline takes us to November of 2021, when Taylor blessed us with her special re-recorded version of Red, including a few “From The Vault” tracks. This era was introduced to us with one of the dancers entering a silent stage, breaking up the stillness by opening up a red box that played clips of the hits from Red that were not included in the set that followed. The main performance kicked off with Taylor, alongside her dancers, taking the stage wearing a top hat and sequin shirt that read “Who’s Taylor Swift Anyways? Ew.” to poke fun of some of the hate comments she’d received online during the Red timeframe. Another huge tradition of this Eras tour is that every night, Taylor’s team handpicks a lucky fan to stand at the end of the stage’s runway while she sings “22,” and at the end of the song, Swift kneels down to gift her hat to the chosen fan. For the performances of the hits “We Are Never Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble,” Swift also ditched the shirt to sport a red and black romper to coordinate with the album’s colors. The audiences’ wristbands also flashed red throughout these songs to tie into the color coordination. The pinnacle of this portion happened during the 10-minute version of “All To Well,” which was one of the “From The Vault” versions of the re-release. I’m not exaggerating when I say singing along to every single lyric of this song was just as cathartic as an hour-long therapy session. During “All Too Well,” confetti was shot into the stadium to represent the “Autumn leaves fallin' down like pieces into place” and “the first fall of snow,” which added a multi-sensory element to the theatrical touches of the performance.

The cathartic moment of “All Too Well” // Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

With everyone’s emotions still at a peak, the show journeyed into the Folklore phase, bringing us back to the first quarantine album that Taylor released in 2020. A spoken word version of the song “Seven” eased us into the cozy cabin that contains these songs (figuratively and literally because the new stage set up included a full-size A-frame cabin). Swift made her entrance to this portion laying on the roof of the aforementioned cabin, draped in an off- white, flowy gown to sing the album’s opening track “the 1,” a song that was co-written and produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner. Following the introductory song, Taylor moved into the cabin saying “we have brought the Folklore cabin to Detroit.” She further elaborated on the significance that the cabin plays in the world of these songs, saying, “I started writing Folklore about two days into the pandemic. Folklore was a state of mind for me. I could escape to this forest in the middle of the woods. It became this imaginary vacation spot.” This mental vacation also represented a departure from the very personal method that Taylor traditionally writes, as these songs saw her telling stories from the point of view of fictionalized characters…such as Betty, Inez and James from the song “Betty,” which was performed next.

With a total of seven songs from Folklore’s sixteen-song tracklist performed, that makes it one of the most represented albums on this tour. This era was also one of the most emotional of the night, with most of the songs performed in a dramatic and passionate fashion by both Taylor and the dancers. Just as the writing of these songs provided an escape from the quarantine-reality that Swift experienced, the performance of them breathed life into that concept of escapism and it truly felt like we dropped into a fictional world while experiencing songs like “my tears ricochet,” “august” and “cardigan.”

The *Folklore* forest /Photo by Rachel Zyzda

As sudden as a snap of fingers, the audience was transported into the world of 1989 (the album, not the year). Taylor and her dancers brought us back to the year 2014 when she transitioned into a more pop-centric sound with iconic hits such as “Style” and “Shake It Off.” Swift performed all of these songs while decked out in an orange, sparkling two piece set and matching booties. During “Blank Space,” her dancers acted out smashing a car that appeared on the stage screen with golf clubs, an homage to the song’s music video. During “Shake It Off,” there wasn’t a single person in the 60,000-capacity stadium not singing and shaking along.

Now, the 1989 set technically wrapped up with Taylor singing “Bad Blood,” but fans were graced with one final song from that album during the acoustic stint of the evening. At every show on this tour, Taylor sings two “surprise songs” that are not included in the main portion of the setlist, and she rotates the song selection every single night. Swift sings the first of the surprise songs on acoustic guitar, before moving over to a piano set up at the end of the stage’s catwalk, and the song performed on guitar ended up being “All You Had To Do Was Stay.” Taylor introduced the track from 1989 by saying “I really don’t think I’ve ever played this song acoustic, but I love this song so much. It’s interesting cause it has this like really loud, really high sound in it” before demonstrating the signature falsetto “stay” she sings in the chorus, which instantly caused the room to dissolve into deafening screams. For the second surprise song, Taylor dove into it without any warning or introduction, which caused my heart to leap into my throat with excitement because it was one of my top three favorite songs of her’s. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the full-body goosebumps I felt hearing her sing “Breathe” from her album Fearless, which is a song that single-handedly helped me survive my first ever heartbreak.

Taylor Swift performing “Breathe.” /Photo by Rachel Zyzda

I know I mentioned earlier that the Reputation era had the most iconic transition, but I have to amend that statement to say it tied with the next transition; As Taylor got up from the piano at the end of the stage, an opening appeared on the stage floor for her to dive into. After she dives, a graphic of her swimming up to the other end of the stage appears. When Taylor returns to the stage, she’s sporting a fuzzy lavender jacket in homage to “Lavender Haze,” the first track on her most recent album, Midnights. Unbelievably, we’ve reached the three-hour mark of the show at this point, and we’ve entered the final Era of the evening. The experience both felt like it had lasted ages and had gone by in a flash.

Last, but certainly not least, the Midnights era ended the evening on an all-time high– everything from the costumes, the production elements, the dancing, and Taylor’s singing were as dazzling as the jeweled-colored lights of the audiences’ wristbands during “Bejeweled.” Just about every song performed from Midnights saw Taylor making a swift (sorry, that was too cheesy) costume transition, including the switch into a midnight blue one-piece for “Midnight Rain” that Taylor changed into under the umbrellas of her dancers. In the ultimate bittersweet moment, the show concluded with the performance of “Karma,” which featured all of the performers draped in neon-colored, glittering fringe jackets dancing under a rainstorm of confetti. The grand finale also featured toned-down “fireworks” that were essentially sparkly pyrotechnics because Ford Field is an enclosed space (which means no real fireworks!)

“Lately, I’ve been dressing for revenge”// Photo Credit: TAS Rights Management

At the end of the theatrical, emotional and extraordinary performance I felt an overwhelming sense of awe, quickly followed by a bout of exhaustion. So many concert-goers who have had the opportunity to witness this once-in-a-lifetime tour have said they felt “hungover” afterwards, despite not drinking. This shared sentiment from the attendees is enough to keep me forever astounded by Taylor Swift’s accomplishments as a musician and entertainer because she’s able to repeat this spectacle night after night. It’s obvious that a tour this massive has a huge team behind it; From the dancers, to the production crew, to the live band, there are countless people putting their blood, sweat and tears into this show, but Taylor Swift acts as the true North Star of the performance, anchoring each and every one of the moving pieces.

The albums and songs that make up the Eras Tour setlist have all acted as a soundtrack to my life during different chapters of it, and I’m so grateful that this concert is now another cherished memory that will perpetually be tied to these songs. As a society, I think we can tend to underestimate the value of pop music, but after the dedication and sheer athleticism that Taylor Swift has displayed throughout the course of this tour and her phenomenal performances, she continues to prove just how impactful pop music can be.

I will admit that I’m slightly biased as an established Swiftie, but I truly believe that the Eras Tour is the performance of the century– unless of course Taylor eventually tops herself.

Tune into the tour setlist below, and see where you can catch the Eras Tour next here.

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categories / Reviews, Gigs, Photos, Music
tags / Taylor Swift, Eras Tour, Ford Field, Live Music, Live Recap, Concert Review, Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Midnights, Fearless, Red, Reputation, 1989, Girl In Red, OWENN, Stadium Tour, Swifties