[ATTENDED: January 25, 2018] Overcoats
This was my first concert of 2018 (March and April are pretty solidly booked). I really enjoyed Overcoats’ Tiny Desk Concert and I thought it would be a real treat to see them live. Their music is dancey, but it’s all about their voices. It was their harmonies and their attitude of friendship and warmth that really sold me.
They were the opening act for the band Tennis, whom I’d only heard of in passing. It was certainly odd to go to a show for the opener and not really know the headliner. The show had just sold out in Brooklyn, but there was a lot of free space in Union Transfer (and yet people still insisted on pushing and shoving–yup I’m old).
Overcoats have one album out–Young. All of their songs were from that album except for one new one called “I Don’t Believe in Us.”
Their drummer Joao Gonzalez came out first (“ladies, he’s available and he likes the Eagles,” was one of several Philly references). Then Hana came out and checked her guitar as JJ came out and checked her synth box thingy. They gave each other a very long deep hug and then Joao begin playing some synth sounds on the sampler. I was glad to see that they still had the same drummer as on their Tiny Desk Concert.
Hana was in front of me. JJ wasn’t far away but I was never able to get a good picture of her–it was very dark.
Their set was fun, with JJ and Hana dancing between verses and looking at each other as they hit harmonies.
Their dynamic is an interesting mix of insular (we two are the only two here, singing to each other) and warm and welcoming–facing us to invite us to sing and dance along.
Hana played guitar on two tracks. Her guitar was a little quiet during “23” but I like the way the song ends with her sliding her hands up the neck. In our show that turned into a little dance section where she and Joao jammed for a minute.
There were many cool little moments where they were dancing or fist-bumping that showed the intense connection the two of them have. They sounded beautiful on “Kai’s Song.”
They had a slight technical snafu at The beginning of “I Don’t Believe in Us” but it was quickly fixed and they played us their new song (which is not meant to be as depressing as the title sounds, they promise).
Before the final song they both commented how hot it was up on stage (Hana was wearing a velvet outfit, so no surprise there). But they, all three, took off their outer layer to reveal Eagles T-shirts. It was a nice nod to the home crowd (Hana has family in Philly as a well). Hana and JJ lay down on the stage to watch Joao take a short drum solo (and commented on the nice touch of bathing the stage in Eagles green). The dance routine they did for “Light” was a lot of fun, too.
By the end of the show, for “Leave the Light On,” the crowd was fully into it (they were pretty good most of the show–but again, you can’t be quiet for 30 minutes? Your witty comment about velvet is THAT important?).
This was a really warm and inviting show. Their voices sounded great and it was all exactly what I hoped it would be.
My guess at a setlist.
- Smaller Than My Mother
- Hold Me Close
- The Fog
- 23
- Kai’s Song
- Nighttime Hunger
- I Don’t Believe in Us
- Leave the Light On
Also, the whole show ended pretty early so I decided to take advantage of that and head right home. I would have loved to get an autograph, but sometimes sleep is more important. But speaking of merch, how great is this shirt, especially in light of recent months
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