Julien Baker played the Red Room at Cafe 939 last night 1/23/16) in Boston, MA. It was perhaps the most emotional and inspiring show I've ever been to. The snow was coming own hard outside and driving sucked but that didn't stop a packed crowd from filling up the venue.
The pop duo Gracie and Rachel (and Shawn) opened the show. The group plays really nice indie-pop with orchestral elements (violin) and minimal percussion. Definitely worth checking them out.
Baker followed soon after the duo +1 finished their set and moved their instruments.
Before I get into the show itself I just want to point out that Julien Baker is one of the most modest, genuine, artists / performers that I have seen. You can see the honesty pour out of everything she plays and sings. It's a definite breath of fresh air and based on the crowd of people who were digging the show, it's definitely noticed and felt by everyone else.
The set opened with the title track off her album, Sprained Ankle, which unfortunately for me was sold out (the LP) by the time I got to the merch table. Her voice is so good live as it is on the record. So much emotion. I brought my sister along and she couldn't get over her guitar playing. The tone and her playing is so good. She followed up with "Blacktop" and then "Rejoice" which was played due to a fan who had tweeted or Instagramed a comment about how she hoped Baker would play the song to make the night that much better. She played the song and even brought the girl a coffee but she had disappeared before she could give it to her.
The set also included "Vessels" and "Something" which were both super fucking good.
My favorite moments of the night were her performance of "Everybody Does." She got so into the song that they end turned into a full out rock out as she began to yell the vocals. The crowd sang along and everyone was really feeling it. "That was cool... thanks for keeping it real Boston," Baker said as the song ended.
My other favorite moment was when after a quick 30 second break after her set, Baker came back for one more and played my favorite song on the record, "Go Home." I have been watching live videos of her past performances and have not seen that one live. It makes sense due to the piano, but when she hit a pedal and I heard the piano track I almost lost it. Super emotional, super clean, super feels.
A great show from beginning to end. It;s always great to dig an artist and see them live and witness that they are not only extremely talented but genuinely humble and real.
I highly recommend seeing Baker play whenever you can and make sure to grab the record asap!
Read my review of Sprained Ankle.
Check this video of Julien Baker playing "Vessels" from the show.
*Photos taken by Adam W Gerhold (me).
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