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Live Recap: Spoon with Margaret Glaspy at The Riviera Theatre

This past Tuesday night, Spoon and Margaret Glaspy gave their audience at The Riviera a fantastic start to their week.

The evening began with a set from Margaret Glaspy and her two bandmates, which kicked off with some new material. After the first few songs, Glaspy said they’d played all new songs so far, but they’d be throwing it back to 2020’s Devotion with “Stay With Me.” During her performance, Glaspy mentioned how grateful she was to have live music back in action, especially now that her band was touring with Spoon, and the crowd reciprocated that appreciation back to the band with zealous applause. Before her set concluded, Glaspy played her 2016 hit “Emotions and Math” and closed out with another new song called “My Body My Choice”—which received a standing ovation from the audience sat in the balcony.

As it came time for Spoon to hit the stage, the Riviera had become visibly packed to the brim—with the entire balcony seats full and crowd members spilling out to the walls on the main floor. This tour was Spoon’s first time back in Chicago since the release of their tenth album Lucifer On The Sofa earlier this year, so naturally they opened up the show with some tunes off the record— including their cover of “Held” by Smog and “The Devil & Mister Jones.” Since Spoon has been making music since the early 90’s they obviously have an extensive catalog of fan favorites to play along with the new music, and they delivered that by playing songs like “Don't You Evah,” “My Mathematical Mind” and “The Underdog” in the first part of the set.

No matter what era of their discography each song came from, there was a great sense of chemistry between the band members—especially between the band founders Britt Daniel and Jim Eno because they’ve been playing music together for so many years. The Riviera was also filled with a profuse sense of joy the entire evening thanks to the feel-good and lighthearted nature of so much of Spoon’s music, and the crowd continued to dance and sing along all night.

Before they got too far into the show, Daniel told the audience that he could tell the night was going to be rough on his voice, but that didn’t stop them from rocking through even more music. After closing out the main portion of the setlist with older favorites “I Turn My Camera On” and “Got Nuffin,” Spoon returned to the Riviera stage for not one, but two encores! The audience enthusiastically called for the band’s return before each encore, and final few songs included the new album’s title track as well as the mischievous anthem “The Way We Get By.”

If you missed out on the incredible show, relive the fun with the photo recap below, and see where you can catch Spoon next here.

Live Recap: Snail Mail with Joy Again at The Riviera

This past Thursday night, Lindsey Jordan, AKA Snail Mail, made a highly anticipated return to Chicago in honor of the sophomore album Valentine.

The night kicked off with a set from Philadelphia’s Joy Again, who got the crowd warmed up with their mix of indie pop and surf rock sound. A highlight of their set was when they performed their single “Looking Out for You,” which has been popularized on Tik Tok and garnered millions of streams. If you haven’t checked out Joy Again yet, I’d recommend if you like The Frights, Vundabar, and Surf Curse.

Next up, it was time for Snail Mail to hit the stage here for the first time since their Pitchfork Festival performance and Pitchfork after show in 2019. It’s always a special moment to take in the energy and excitement of fans being reunited with their favorite artists for the first time post-Covid, and the reunion between Jordan and the eager fans in the front row surged the venue with contagious joy. As Jordan and her bandmates took their places on a stage decked out with flowers and Cupid statues to coordinate with the second album’s title, a huge grin lit up her face while she began to sing the album’s title track “Valentine.” The show continued on with a few new songs from the 2021 album, marking the live debut in Chicago for “Ben Franklin” and “Glory” before Jordan and her band began to weave in fan favorites from her 2019 debut Lush as well. During some songs, the crowd was singing along so loudly that I could hear their singing over Jordan’s own vocals.

The setlist also contained some deeper cuts, like “Thinning” from the 2016 “Habits” EP, but no matter what they were playing, Jordan exuded a sense of comfort being back on stage and she radiated happiness to be playing music with her bandmates. During the performance of “Light Blue,” the bandmates left the stage and Jordan performed the track solo on acoustic guitar, bringing a gentle sense of calm to the room. The show was jam-packed with a lot of music, so Jordan didn’t spend too much time bantering between sets, but she did take a moment to soak in the aesthetics of The Riviera Theatre. “This is a beautiful venue. Even soundchecking in here was a great honor,” she said. The energy continued to amp back up as the band performed a cover of The Smashing Pumpkins “Tonight, Tonight,” which felt especially fitting for this show since we were in The Pumpkins’ hometown.

If you missed out on the concert, check out our photo recap of the evening below, and see where you can catch Snail Mail next here.

Live Recap: Wolf Alice with Charlie Hickey at The Club at Stage AE

How do you spend a great Friday night? The Wolf Alice show with opener Charlie Hickey, that’s how. 

First up singer/songwriter Charlie Hickey. A fantastic voice and great vibe this is another example of why you don’t want to skip the opener.  Fresh off his appearances in SXSW this year, Hickey has booked a few dates on the Wolf Alice tour. He’s got a debut album called Nervous At Night due out in May too, which you can pre-order here.

Headliners Wolf Alice were up next. Why this band was playing the Club stage last night and not the big room is beyond me! This band is so hard to categorize with their complex mix of sound and energy.  Slipping from manic to mystic and back again, the band carries their show. The set list was heavy on tracks from the new album Blue Weekend, but the crowd responded just as well to the new work as the tried and true. The evening closed with “The Last Man on Earth” as one of two encores. 

Overall, it was fantastic night of music from the heartfelt songs of Charlie Hickey to Wolf Alice with their kinetic sound– The only thing left to say is: get this band a bigger stage…immediately! 

Check out the photo gallery of the night below, and see where you can catch Wolf Alice next here.

Live Recap: Bright Eyes and Christian Lee Hutson at The Chicago Theatre

This past Saturday night, the iconic Chicago Theatre hosted a rare performance from Bright Eyes and special guest Christian Lee Hutson.

The evening kicked off with Christian Lee Hutson and his two bandmates for a set that combined indie folk songs and witty banter. Hutson’s set began with “Atheist” from his debut album, aptly called Beginners. As he began to play an unreleased song, Hutson started to give the backstory but paused and told the crowd it’d be better if he explained it afterwards. In the lyrics, he described an Instagram page that I’ve come across in real life, called “Siblings or Dating?” After wrapping up the song, Hutson informed the audience that the real Instagram page in fact inspired the song, and described the page as being one that posts random pictures of people and the premise (as you’ve probably predicted) is to guess if the pair is dating or related. Hutson also told the audience about his upcoming sophomore album called Quitters, which he joked would be his last because he’s quitting. The rest of the set contained some familiar favorites like “Get The Old Band Back Together,” which Hutson prefaced as being about “these guys I went to high school with who started a band, like sixteen years ago. But they’ve never played a gig before.” Overall, Hutson’s sound meshed really well with the forthcoming Bright Eyes set and the beautiful acoustics of the Chicago Theatre.

Between sets, excited chatter bounced around the room as fans anticipated Bright Eyes returning to the stage in Chicago. While I’ve gotten to see Conor Oberst perform with different projects in more recent years, it had been more than ten years since a Bright Eyes performance in the city. The scene was set with a massive backdrop in the form of an eye-chart that read the band’s name, and more than 15 musicians entered the stage, including Bright Eyes members alongside a strings and horns section. The show began with 2020’s “Dance and Sing,” in which Oberst fittingly performed sans instrument, and instead twirled around the stage with just his microphone. Next up, Oberst stationed himself at the piano to throw it back to the early 2000’s with their fan-favorite “Lover I Don’t Have to Love.” Throughout the set, Oberst and the band circulated around the stage, with the strings section and horns section sometimes leaving the stage entirely—but no matter what song was being performed, the live arrangements remained layered and expansive in order to provide the best live translation of the studio versions. For example, the strings section added an encompassing warmth to “Four Winds” that had the crowd listening with awe and appreciation.

Throughout most of the show itself, fans mostly remained in their seats, attentively listening or singing along to their favorite lyrics, but between songs, deafening cheers and raucous applause filled the room. During certain fan favorite songs and towards the end of the show, the audience couldn’t resist standing up out of their seats in order to further revel in the moment. The full band returned onstage for the final song before the encore, “Comet Song,” and as the tune came to a close, the band received a standing ovation from the audience.

When fans hollered for an encore, Bright Eyes obliged and returned to play “First Day of My Life” from 2005’s I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. The song is my personal favorite from Bright Eye’s catalog, as I’m sure it is to many other fans, but it hasn’t been a staple in the setlist this tour, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear it on Saturday night. One of the backing musicians also played the flute during the song, which made the moment even more special to witness. The encore wrapped up with “I Believe in Symmetry” and “One for You, One for Me.”

If you missed out on the special performance, check out the photo gallery below and see where you can catch the tour next here. Lastly, make sure you pre-order the reissues of Bright Eyes’ iconic releases here, and you can pre-order Quitters by Christian Lee Hutson here.

Live Recap: Perfume Genius with Hand Habits at Mr. Smalls Theatre

Perfume Genius, aka Mike Hadreas, performed a mesmerizing show at Pittsburgh’s Mr. Smalls Theatre, in honor of his critically acclaimed album Set My Heart on Fire Immediately.

Starting with an understated but powerful opening set from singer-songwriter Hand Habits, aka Meg Duffy (also a member of Perfume Genius’ band). They kept it simple, a guitar and two simple lights to hide them which allowed focus to fall on their voice and music. It worked. In a setting that often is noisy, chatty ‘opener’ space, the crowd was silent and rapt. It was a really powerful and a wonderful start to the show.

Perfume Genius followed up with a fantastic set. Sometimes playful, sometimes moody, the raw and honest performance was an enchanting reminder of the power of his music. From the electronic beats of opening song “Your Body Changes Everything” through the stunning “Fool” and more. Surprisingly few from his anticipated June release, “Ugly Season” with only “Photograph” finding its way into the set list the rest was full of some of Hadreas best known work. Including ending with “Queen” and a great rendition of “Grid”. 

It’s been a long time since the last time I caught a Perfume Genius show but it is as I remembered, in turns bold, shy, intimate, playful, serious and seductive. Just fantastic. Check out photos of the evening below, and see where you can catch the tour next here.

Live Recap: Girl in Red with Holly Humberstone at Metro

ANCHR kicked off the weekend by catching Girl in Red’s second sold out show at Metro with Holly Humberstone.

Walking into the Metro on Friday night, the air was palpable with excitement as devoted fans packed into the venue to see the indie pop songwriter and musician Marie Ulven Ringheim, better known by the moniker Girl in Red. Ringheim hails from Norway, but is currently in the midst of a sold out North American tour because she has no shortage of fans on this side of the world. I’ve been to many concerts where fans are eager to see their favorite performer, but the excited energy of this crowd was something even more intense than an average show, and it left me with an extra pep in my step throughout the evening.

The show kicked off right at 7PM with British singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone, who took the stage for a solo performance. Although Humberstone didn’t have a backing band with her, she managed to breathe depth into her songs by setting up beat loops along with playing the keyboard and guitar throughout the set. Her songs like “Scarlett” and “London is Lonely” showed off her warm and silky vocal tones, and I could hear similarities in Humberstone’s sound to Wet, Vérité, and even a little bit of Ellie Goulding’s more mellower tracks. Other than her unreleased song in the set, called “Sleep Tight,” fans in the front of the crowd joined Humberstone in singing along. Make sure to give Humberstone a follow to see what she’s up to next.

Between sets, the high energy continued to radiate amongst the audience, as everyone sang along to Doja Cat songs until Girl in Red took the stage. Ringheim and her bandmates burst onto the stage and began “You Stupid Bitch,” as flashing strobes accompanied the song’s explosive chorus while fans loudly echoed the lyrics. At the moment, the wild ride was only just beginning— while Ringheim’s style of music can be described as bedroom pop, her stage presence is anything but sleepy. A Girl in Red show combines hooky pop music with rock n’ roll stage antics, and Ringheim remained in motion, constantly bolting around the Metro stage as she performed songs from 2021’s if i could make it go quiet amongst her earlier material. Between songs, Ringheim either riled the audience up by telling them they had to go harder than the first night’s crowd, or she filled them in on behind the scenes bits about the music. After playing “i'll die anyway.,” she mentioned she had actually finished the song in Chicago years ago while on tour with Conan Gray.

I thought the show had been pretty much full speed since the kick off, but after crowd surfing at the end of “Serotonin,” Ringheim told the audience that the “slow part” of the show was officially over and jumped into her popular single “bad idea!” The momentum continued to climb further for the rest of the show. Just before the final song of the evening, a fan in the front row threw a bouquet of flowers to Ringheim, with a note that told her she’d changed the fan’s life. Ringheim joked she thought it said “changed my vibe” at first, which was fitting because the show had filled the venue with nothing but positive vibes. The night closed out with the massively popular “i wanna be your girlfriend,” which ended with Ringheim stage diving into her sea of adoring audience members.

If you missed the sold out spectacle, check out the photo recap below, and see where you can catch Girl in Red next here.

Live Recap: Alt-J with Portugal. The Man and Windser at Credit Union 1 Arena

Alt-J played the Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago last Saturday night, in honor of their brand new album called The Dream.


The evening opened up with independent artist Windser from Santa Cruz, California. Windser is the moniker of lead vocalist and songwriter Jordan Topf, but Topf was joined by his live band to perform his songs like “July” and “Memory” to the arena crowd. Windser’s bright guitar riffs blended with his hooky beats and buttery vocals, making him the perfect bridge between fans of Portugal. The Man and Alt-J. If you like Michigander, Del Water Gap, and Yoke Lore, be sure to keep an eye on Windser for more new music in the near future.

Next up, anticipation built up around the room and fans in the front row grew visibly antsy for Portugal. The Man’s set to begin. The moment felt very theatrical and dramatic, as fog machines pumped smoke onto the stage and throughout the room, and a screen provided a bright backdrop to the dim stage. Colorful lighting rigs that framed the stage began to flash in time to their upbeat mix of rock and psychedelic pop, while the screen flicked through varying visual clips to accompany each song. From the second Portugal. The Man hit the stage, they amplified the volume and energy swirling around the room, and the audience enthusiastically sang along to songs like “Live in the Moment” and “What, Me Worry?” Their set closed out with “Feel It Still” and “Purple Yellow Red and Blue”— each of these songs receiving overwhelming cheers as fans recognized the opening riffs.

As the adrenaline from Portugal. The Man’s show still bounced around the arena, the stage began to transform for Alt-J to close out the night. After about a 40 minute change over, the curtain at the front of the stage dropped to reveal approximately ten-foot high risers boxed in by screens. Soon, the three members of Alt-J made their way to their spots on the risers and the dark stage was lit up by projections of large candles reflecting on the box that enveloped the band. Throughout the show, the projections shifted to simulate everything from falling rain, moonlight, a fish tank, the Northern Lights, ocean waves, and blooms of flowers— just to name a few. Pictures don’t do the spectacle justice, but the way the projections perfectly complemented to tone and moods of each song really elevated the magic of Alt-J’s hypnotic performance. The audience remained in awe as Alt-J shuffled through their entire catalog alongside the stunning visualizations— they of course heavily featured newer songs from The Actor like “Bane,” “Losing My Mind,” and “Chicago” (which got an extra hometown cheer), but there was no shortage of familiar tunes like “Tessellate,” “Matilda,” and “Fitzpleasure” from their earlier records. Just as Alt-J started performing “Taro” from their debut album, Gus Unger-Hamilton of the band noticed that one audience member needed assistance getting out of the crowd, and the show stopped while fellow crowd members helped them to safety. The band ended up dedicating the song to them, and the moment was a reminder of how important it is to keep a sense of community and camaraderie at shows.

Before the show ended, Alt-J reinforced that positive message of community by making sure to let everyone know that they stand with the people Ukraine— as an image of the country’s flag projected onto the screen, Unger-Hamilton shouted “fuck Putin!” before they launched into their hit “Left Hand Free.” The wonderful evening closed out with another fan favorite “Breezeblocks.”

You can relive some of the show by checking out the photo gallery below, but there’s nothing better than catching this top-tier production in person, so be sure to see what tour dates are coming next here.

Live Recap: Glass Animals at Credit Union 1 Arena

When I think of Glass Animals, my mind immediately drifts to sunny summer days at the beach, neon lights, and bright colors. Essentially, they embody happiness and tropical vacations in a band. While this past Friday night in Chicago was chilly and rainy, the second I stepped into the Credit Union 1 arena that Glass Animals was performing at, it felt like I had entered a bubble of paradise that protected me from the gloomy outside world.

As I made my way into the main room of the arena, I spotted excited fans donning neon-colored clothes and sparkly outfits that reflected the vibes of Glass Animals’ upbeat tunes. Some crowd members had posters and balloons as well, but the best fan accessory had to be the blow up pineapple-shaped floatie that paid homage to the band’s unofficial mascot of the pineapple (which even got a shout out from singer Dave Bayley after they played “Pork Soda”).

After taking in the crowd, I soaked up the incredible set design that had been assembled onstage—at the very back of the stage, a screen that resembled a desktop computer counted down the moments until Glass Animals’ set would begin. A giant basketball hoop and palm trees stood tall on the sides of the stage, and the front of the stage was designed to look like a swimming pool, including a diving board. The theme of the stage captured the essence of summer fun and the nostalgia of being a kid.

The last time I saw Glass Animals perform had been at Lincoln Hall in March of 2020, just before the live music industry shut down, so it was incredible to see them return in such a massive way. From the size of the crowd and the intricacy of the stage design, this time around was so different. Despite the bigger crowd and bigger set up, the one thing that didn’t change between these scales of show was the amount of passion and showmanship that Bayley and his bandmates brought to the stage. Glass Animals is a band that just has that element of authentic charisma when they hit the stage, no matter what type of stage it is, you know that you’re going to witness a stellar performance. When the show began with the euphoric title track of 2020’s Dreamland, I felt an instant rush of serotonin that didn’t falter for the rest of the show.

This show was my first time hearing many of the songs from Dreamland performed live since the album came out in the summer of 2020, but the band also sprinkled in familiar favorites like “Life Itself” and “Youth” from 2016’s How To Be A Human Being and “Gooey” from 2014’s ZABA. During the set, Bayley remained fluid across the entirety of the stage, dancing and moving along as he sang their songs, but there was a moment after “Gooey” where the crowd got extra loud with their applause and cheers and Bayley paused to soak in that moment with gratitude. The high energy picked right back up and came to a peak when confetti showered the audience at the end of “Pork Soda” just before the members of Glass Animals left the stage. While the fans hollered for an encore, the computer screen backdrop held a prompt that asked if we wanted Glass Animals to continue. The resounding answer based on the intensity of the cheers was yes, so the group returned to the stage to perform “Tokyo Drifting” and their massive hit “Heat Waves,” which has been all over the radio, Tik Tok, and garnered over one billion streams on Spotify. Since it came out, “Heat Waves” has remained in my rotation because it’s one of those songs that can instantly boost my mood, and it was a wonderful experience getting to soak in the anthem with an arena full of fellow fans.

See where you can catch Glass Animals on tour next here, and relive the magic of their show with the photo recap, also featuring Sad Night Dynamite, below.

Live Recap: Thao with Becca Mancari and Why Bonnie

As Austin band Why Bonnie kicked off the show, I couldn’t help noticing there was an undeniable americana hitch to the vocals by lyricist Blair Howerton. Especially during their latest single “Galveston.” It’s emotive, it comes from the gut. More 90’s wail than coal miner’s daughter. The relaxed ease of Howerton’s stage presence echoes the authenticity of her voice, and the music dovetails with that authenticity perfectly. Why Bonnie brings a more actively impassioned approach to dreamy bedroom rock. Sometimes that passion has some punch, some anger. “Athlete” balances muscular grunge with trance-like washes. As Howerton sings “I wish I were quicker on my feet…”, things go sideways fast as the landscape bends into psych that could trip you up. But this audience is nimble, and they sway into the rock of the music. Bassist Chance Williams and Sam Houdek on guitar anchored the sides of the stage with loose limbed rhythm, letting their bodies bend and their hair fly. Why Bonnie topped off their set with “No Caves,“ the gentle rocking evolved, taking us someplace intensely emotionally raw. As Howerton wails, "I wanna take off your clothes, Set us on fire just to see where the smoke goes" the cathartic energy swept over the crowd. Leaving me lighter in the wake of their performance, and much anticipating the album they promised to release later this year. 

Becca Mancari writes music that captures emotion. It’s lyrically expressive, and yet tonally juxtaposed. The music is soothing, but the lyrics clearly tell us “I’ve got a bad bad bad feeling.” Sometimes the music shifts suddenly to more directly reflect the lyrics. It is a delicate balancing act. The band has the confident swagger to meet the talent of Mancari’s songwriting. They show the breadth of the music with the first few songs, greeting us with “Pretend,” a delightful sunny breakup song. “Hunter” was a rhythmic driving proto-alt banger. Going into her third song, “First Time,” Mancari tells us the moment that inspired this song was the catalyst for her writing her 2020 album, The Greatest Part. They dedicated it to the “queer babies” in the audience. The glistening echoing tones defied the heart-crushing lyric, “I remember the first time my dad didn't hug me back.” As the song ends and fades, somehow I was left with a sense of beauty. Mancari lifts our hearts with a breathless, "Happy pride y'all. 365." The masterful stage presence and vulnerability of the music kept the audience rapt. I got weak in the knees from the four part harmony during “Golden.” I begged for more, even as she sang, “I’m sorry I’m not done yet.”  Mancari and her band owned the stage with strength and an uplifting sense of community. 

From the moment THAO stepped on the stage in a pearlescent sequined jumpsuit, the tone was set for celebration. It was Thao Nguyen’s birthday eve, afterall. As the first song, “Departure,” built and unraveled, the audience’s enthusiasm heated up. They were surely ready for the rhythmically complex, heavy beat, and melodic exploration of Thao’s music. Finally on tour two years after the release of Temple, there was a palpable energy of a night long awaited. They warmed us up to that album with “Phenom,” bringing that edgy west coast attitude. Thao isn’t afraid to inject her music with atonal tuning which can be off-putting to American rock sensibilities. It is disruptive in the most pleasurable way possible, giving the lanky beat an off kilter bouncy house feel.

There were hoots from the audience when Thao brought out the banjo for “Holy Roller.” I was mesmerized by her standing strut. I couldn’t resist shifting my weight in concert with her. On the chorus, Thao gestured and the crowd jumped in to sing along. The band pleased dedicated fans by playing songs from across Thao’s catalog, going as far back as her 2008 track, “Feet Asleep.”  

Thao wrote “Temple” from her mother’s perspective, telling us of their flight from Vietnam, “But we found freedom, what will you do now, bury the burden baby, make us proud.” The emotion was thick as Thao moved, the sequins on her jumpsuit caught dramatic beams of light, which moved around the space like searchlights. There’s a distinct plucking style to the way Thao plays guitar, you can see the banjo/mandolin player at work. I could also see the great rhythm and blues musicians in the way she speaks through her guitar, sometimes it is harmonizing, sometimes echoing a reply, or offering a staccato exclamation point. Thao grimaced, letting her raw emotion flow through her guitar during “Guts,” and the audience threw up their arms and let their bodies move in a Woodstock-like ecstasy. Song after song showed how central the groove is to Thao’s music. She hooked us with that body moving groove and then hit us with her heart and soul. It is the perfect delivery system for a cathartically charged experience. 

All three bands in the lineup blended influences and smoothly traversed the rock landscape from Americana to psych to grunge to angular to groove. No matter the form the music took, there was an emotively raw authenticity that made me feel grateful to be there sharing that space.

All photos and words by Tina Mead

Live Recap: Caroline Rose and Tōth at Lincoln Hall

ANCHR spent this last St.Patty’s Day in the ideal way—no, not by drinking green beer or seeing the Chicago River dyed green— by seeing Caroline Rose and Tōth in a sold out Lincoln Hall.

Brooklyn songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex Toth (the namesake of Tōth) kicked off the high energy and good vibes of the evening by beginning the set donning sparkly butterfly wings. The fun continued with songs like “Turnaround (Cocaine Song)” and “Muerto,” which had some crowd members singing along. However, the biggest sing-along of the set happened when Tōth performed “Juliette” and led audience members in echoing the lines “Juliette, I’m just glad we met.”

Next up, a DIY backdrop and light set up filled the stage to mark a new era for Caroline Rose. Caroline’s highly anticipated return to Chicago was her first show here since the release of her album Superstar— which as Caroline joked was a terrible date to release music, was put out on March 6th, 2020. Caroline and her band hit the stage when the room was packed and buzzing with fans who were either eager to see them perform again, or new fans ready to experience Caroline Rose for the first time. The beginning part of the set featured some familiar favorites from 2018’s Loner, like “More of the Same” and “Jeannie Becomes A Mom” before turning to songs from the newest record. Caroline’s albums have brought me joy as a listener, but nothing compares to witnessing her perform and bring those songs to life in a completely unique light. For example, Caroline used auto-tune during one song and then broke off into a tangent of singing “Believe” by Cher. “I could be a Cher impersonator and probably make a lot more money,” she joked. At another point, Caroline turned off the DIY lighting rig and borrowed a fan in the front row’s phone to use the flashlight as a makeshift spotlight—making the already intimate show feel even more personal.

Towards the middle of the show, Caroline spoke between songs about how the pandemic has affected her approach to life, relating it to the carefree attitude our grandparents often adopt later in life (“Like when your grandparents don’t give a crap about what they do and just burp and fart in front of you”). “That sounded more poetic in my head but when I say it out loud, it didn’t sound quite as sexy,” she added. While there was obviously a joking element to that statement, the underlying sentiment is one that I personally can relate to a lot; Now that we’ve survived the devastation that the pandemic has brought on so far, it’s much easier to no longer sweat the small stuff in life. The heartbreak of the pandemic and the shut down of the music industry also made it that much easier to truly cherish and appreciate moments like this Caroline Rose concert— it was one of those shows that make you believe in rock and roll and the goodness of other humans by bringing together a room full of strangers.

The show ended with Caroline performing an extended version of “Money”— with a detour that had her climbing the amps and ad libbing whatever vocalizations came to mind. With so much going on in the world, these short moments of undistracted joy are what keeps me going.

You can catch Caroline Rose on tour this year—dates here, and check out the photo recap of the night below.