PHOTOS + REVIEW: Devon Welsh sings sparsely powerful songs about “True Love” at Lilypad Inman, with Abandon and St. Nothing (11/10/19)

While audience members chuckled softly over Devon Welsh’s preamble to his set — where he took his time with expressing that what he was about to say was his “greatest desire” to eventually arrive at saying this desire was for the audience to arrange tables they sat on into a semicircle and sit in the space between them — what the request seemed to actually express was Welsh’s very real desire to have performance space become a form of quiet emotional intimacy.

PHOTOS + REVIEW: Ezra Furman brings “a night of pain and a night of celebration” to The Sinclair, with support from OMNI

Coming to the stage smiling and waving while holding an orange he would later peel onstage, Ezra Furman took his position behind the mic at the center as the lighting shifted, the dim fill lighting changing to sheer spotlights illuminating the whole stage for the entirety of the set. As Ezra first addressed the crowd after his band propelled into a killer opening 1-2 of “Cherry Lane” and “I Wanna Destroy Myself,” the meaning behind this lighting design became exceedingly clear: in times shrouded by darkness, Furman aims for his show to be a beacon of light.

PHOTOS + REVIEW: Slothrust, joined by MANNEQUIN PUSSY, bring fantastic vibes to The Sinclair (11/10/18)

Allow me to start off-subject if you will. One of my favorite performances of Arctic Monkeys’ “Mardy Bum” that I can never rewatch enough times is the rendition they played at 2006’s Reading Festival. Only a couple of notes in, it is easy to see why. Although perhaps nervous, the band looks quite happy to be there, and the crowd even more so, judging by the fact that they sing along to pretty much every part of the song, and they do so with ardent splendor. And as I stood amongst the crowd for Slothrust’s Saturday night set at The Sinclair, hearing the band play “Like a Child Hiding Behind Your Tombstone” from 2016’s Everyone Else, smiles and all from frontwoman Leah Wellbaum in-between the song’s major moments, the crowd responding with unbridled joy, I find it hard not to find parallels between these two beautiful performances, for this beauty was part of a night of live music that was as every bit welcoming as it was bustling.

CONCERT REVIEW: The Joy Formidable calm nerves and have a good time at The Sinclair (11/6/18)

During opening band Tancred’s set, there was a moment in-between songs that, without wanting to get too political, summarized the general mood of both the audience and the show. Tancred remarked that the crowd seemed “inattentive,” and asked if it was either because it was a Tuesday, or because everyone had voted. The audience gave no definite response, but front woman Jess Abbott, and the band as a whole really, took it all in good spirit. Whatever the crowd’s disposition happened to be was not something the band was going to let dampen their set. Election results be damned, Tancred were there to kick off a night of good music, and that was exactly what they did in the time they were onstage. Their setlist comprised mostly of songs from their latest album, Nightstand, and their blend of power pop, indie rock tuneage served as the perfect compliment to The Joy Formidable. I had the privilege of seeing Tancred open for Julien Baker when she came to Providence earlier this year, and and just like the warm reception they received for that gig, there was enthusiasm abound for the four-piece.

CONCERT REVIEW: Deafheaven made a welcome return to Fête Music Hall (11/2/18)

Although I had the chance to see Deafheaven take command of Boston’s Royale earlier in July, I went into Friday night’s double-header concert of Deafheaven and DIIV with what I could only describe as a surge of uncontained excitement. After all, Fete Music Hall was where I first got to see Deafheaven unleash beautifully contained havoc upon the audience. There was George Clarke’s trademark screams and snarls; there was a heck of a lot of moshing and crowd surfing; and there was one of my favorite bands in top form, touring behind and riding on the waves of success of my favorite album from that cycle. It was a blissful experience, and it was as every bit as blissful at this most recent outing.

PHOTOS + REVIEW: Django Django make a triumphant return to New York on the release day of their new EP, with support from The Shacks

In the packed basement performance space of Le Poisson Rouge this past Friday, British alt-rockers Django Django took to the stage on anything but an ordinary Friday night for the band. Not only was it their first New York show in two years (for which anticipation could be tangibly felt leading up to the set from many in the crowd who expressed gratitude at finally being able to see the band), but the gig also doubled as a release show for their new EP Winter’s Beach, which supplements their third LP Marble Skies also released this year.

PHOTOS + REVIEW: Sidney Gish’s first headlining hometown gig of 2018 proves why she’s Boston’s favorite rising DIY star

Last year, we at Odd Blue Fruit recapped the last show Sidney Gish played in the greater Boston area in 2017 at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston. Gish had been a big DIY staple in the local music scene throughout the year, opening for the likes of Xenia Rubinos and Margaret Glaspy, releasing the stellar debut album Ed Buys Houses, and garnering some nominations from the Boston Music Awards all while studying at Northeastern.

PHOTOS + REVIEW: Jeff Rosenstock (acoustic), Anika Pyle at Silent Barn (A Fundraiser for ELM)

In between different legs of touring, Jeff Rosenstock played a late-announced acoustic set at the soon-to-be-closing Silent Barn in Bushwick, where Rosenstock has played a number of times in the past. The show fell on the same weekend as the physical release of Rosenstock’s latest excellent album POST- (a weekend which also involved scavenger hunts to find test pressings of the record in a handful of major US cities) and also served as a fundraiser for Bushwick’s Educated Little Monsters, a local grassroots youth program working to provide artistic outlets and economic opportunities to Brooklyn youth of color. (The organization, which had been using Silent Barn as its headquarters, is currently raising funds to take over the first floor of the building rented by Silent Barn.)

REVIEW: Ezra Furman, Anna Burch at Great Scott

The title to the first song of Ezra Furman’s set this month at Allston’s Great Scott set the perfect tone for his stage presence throughout the evening: “Come Here Get Away From Me.” Touring for his excellent recent album Transangelic Exodus, Furman transformed an already poetic and impassioned collection of songs detailing a “queer outlaw saga” into a performance full of even more fervor than the recordings. From the very beginning of the set, Furman laced his more melodic leanings with ear-shattering screams, putting as much emotion possible into the most heart-rending moments of his music. Even as his lyrics skewed poignantly human, Ezra Furman kept infusing their delivery with bite.