[ATTENDED: August 12, 2023] Sylvan Esso
I’ve had Sylvan Esso on my list of bands to see for a while, even though I’ve never been a huge fan of the band. I like a lot of their songs, but I don’t really listen to them all that much.
However, every time they release a new single I dig it. Plus, I had heard that their live shows were electric. The last time they camw to Philly it was part of another tour and I’d never even heard of the headliner(!). Before that was 2018 at a Festival.
The problem, such as it is, is that I didn’t know their new album all that well at all. But that’s fine, because the songs are fun and Amelia Meath, literally the only person to watch on stage is all about being in charge. Her musical partner Nick Sanborn creates all of the music on a variety of electronic devices. he stands up in the corner of the stage, occasionally looking up, but mostly very busy making sounds including manipulating and echoing Amelia;s voice as she sings.
Amelia started out wearing a suit jacket long enough to cover most of her body. She opened the jacket for “Ferris Wheel” (and I love how the whole room shouted the NO! at the right time).
Then she took off the jacket to reveal that she was wearing a leather bikini of some sort (which looked really uncomfortable if I’m being honest). But she was in her element–dancing some impromptu moves and getting the whoel crowd inspired by her.
The lights were also really impressive. They had four vertical bars of lights on either side of the stage. They changed color and made patterns throughout which really cast a mood for each song. There were also some big floods and lots of other colors floating around.
I didn’t know some of the songs, of course, but I was entranced by the lighting in “Die Young,” a slower song that features some great moody lights and a lot of darkness. Most of my favorite songs come from their debut. I love H.S.K.T. for its silliness and it’s so damned catchy.
The middle of the show was a little slower. And then Amelia left the stage. Nick played a lengthy instrumental passage and then Amelia came back out wearing a dress that appeared to be made out of those scrubbies that you use in the shower. It was round and colorful and so much fun as she jumped and it bounced with her.
She sang a number of songs in this dress including some of their earliest and biggest hits. I actually don’t know Hey Mami but that got a HUGE response from the crowd. I did know “Radio” the song that first got me into them and “Coffee” (although I had no idea these were the names of these songs). They ended the set with one more new song “Make It Easy.” Amelia told us that was the last song (but you know it isn’t REALLY)
The set was remarkable split among their four albums with each one getting at least four songs.
They came out for an encore and Nick played guitar as they performed “Funeral Singers” a cover of the song by Califone, which I don’t know. And they ended the night with “Make It Easy” a very chill song that was a really nice way to end the night.
I was happy the set was short (in another city they did three encore songs) because it was so unreasonably hot in there. This is my third Philly show in a row in both the Fillmore and now Franklin Music Hall where it has been outrageously hot. Are they trying to save money? I mean, it was unsafe in there–they knew it too since security was handing out water bottles.
It’s really crazy how unpleasant it was.
- Alarm ⊗
- Ferris Wheel £
- Train £
- Dress §
- Kick Jump Twist ¢
- Die Young ¢
- H.S.K.T. §
- Frequency £
- How Did You Know ⊗
- Uncatena §
- Numb £
- Cloud Walker ⊗
- Sunburn ⊗
- Hey Mami §
- Radio ¢
- Coffee §
- Echo Party ⊗
encore - Funeral Singers [Califone cover]
- Make It Easy £
§ Sylvan Esso (2014)
¢ What Now (2017)
£ Free Love (2020)
⊗ No Rules Sandy (2022)
I Just Read About That... 
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