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Archive for the ‘Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory’ Category

[ATTENDED: September 26, 2025] Noah Kahan–All Things Go [Day 1]

Noah Kahan was the headliner for Friday night.

I know that I exist in a musical world that is all of my own so I didn’t know Noah at all.  I was aware of his song Stick Season because my daughter played it for me, but it seemed like he was basically a folk singer.  So I guess I don’t understand kids these days.

Anyhow, I was surprised that he would be the headliner, but clearly no one else was.

But I was pretty happy that it wasn’t just him and a mandolin.  He had a full band and they rocked much harder than I thought they would.  Although it was pretty fascinating to hear the crowd react so powerfully to a dude with a mandolin.

But he had a full band and they harmonized really nicely.  He also seemed genuinely funny and nice.  (I’m Noah Kahan and I’m here to ruin your evening). (more…)

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[ATTENDED: September 26, 2025] The Last Dinner Party-All Things Go [Day 1]

I was most excited to see The Last Dinner Party. They had only played Philly once but I had tickets to another show that night.  Ugh.  So this was my first time seeing them.  And they were terrific.

The opening strains of Prelude to Ecstasy played over the speakers as they came out on stage.  The five women up front filled the whole stage–keys (Aurora Nishevci) , guitar (Emily Roberts), vocals (Abigail Morris), guitar (Lizzie Mayland), bass (Georgia Davies) with their drummer back on the riser.

They opened with Burn Alive and it was cool to hear these songs come to life.  The problem for me was that the woman next to me felt compelled to scream every single word.

The empowering anthem Caesar on a TV Screen came next and Aurora played keytar which was fun to see.  She rocked out next to Emily–who plays some phenomenal solos.

Count the Ways played live for the first time 2 nights ago in New York City. Abigail  went over to acknowledge the ASL interpreter and to thank them–she said they didn’t know they had one.

Abigail introduced the next song as being from the first record and you might know it.  And Lizzie said no you won’t this is from the new record.  Abigail laughed “I don’t know my own setlist.”

Second Best opens with gorgeous acapella harmonies from all of them.  It’s a great song, continuing their streak of great songs.  And of course since they were new, the woman next to me couldn’t sing them.

On Your Side has some really gorgeous quiet moments that showcases how great their voices are.

Aurora sang Gjuha next after giving a brief introduction about it (it’s about her relationship with her mother tongue).  Everyone sang backing vocals and Emily played the mandolin–absolutely lovely.  And it segued right into the rocking Sinner.   It was really fun to see Abigail dancing around the stage with abandon. Lizzie sings some lead vocals on this song too, which I didn’t realize.

Then came another new one Agnus Dei.  Which Abigail introduced as “This is a song about a boy–ew!”

After a moment with a QR code to donate to Palestine, Abigail said she was really sorry for what was happening on our country and it was not a time to be scared–letting us really know how the rest of the world sees us right now.

Aurora started playing the piano up on the riser and as Abigail walked up the risers and as they started the next song Aurora gasped and stopped playing–she was attacked by a huge moth. Everyone laughed–“you guys have some massive bugs here.”

They returned to Portrait of a Dead Girl which builds to some great sing alongs–over and over again as well as the really fun “give me the strength.”

I didn’t realize that the band doesn’t have a drummer.  They use session drummers for tour (wonder why).  For this show they had Victoria Smith who was great–she totally rocks. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: September 26, 2025] All Things Go [Day 1]

My daughter and I went to All Things Go in 2023 and had a great time.  We didn’t go last year, but this year we decided to go again–for all three days (last time it was two).

The first day was a Friday and my daughter had a half day of school.  So we left after classes and got to MD in pretty decent time.  The early shows on Friday were great and I would have loved to see Lucius (having just seen them) and Sharon Van Etten (having seen them a few weeks earlier), but it was fine that we arrived too late for them.  But my huge YES was for The Last Dinner Party, a band I could have seen when they played Johnny Brenda’s but my wife and I had gone to a meh show elsewhere that not instead.  So I really wanted to see them!

We arrived, got good ADA parking (phew) and used our fast pass entry (yay).  We could hear The Beaches playing and they sounded great.  My daughter went for food and I grabbed a seat as we watched a video of The Marías playing. I was a little bummed we didn’t see them (although I hadn’t heard of them at all before this) because their set sounded really good.

In a bizarre coincidence, we ran into my niece/her cousin while getting food.  It was great to see her (she lives in DC).  She was really looking forward to seeing Noah Kahan.  Then we parted–thought we might see her at Noah but we didn’t.

Then we headed down to the Chrysalis Stage (which was pretty packed) in time to see The Last Dinner Party.  My daughter and I have different wants at a show.  I like to be really close and she is cool hanging out and letting the music wash over her.

So I snuck down as far as I could and enjoyed TLDP very very much.  I even got a photo of the setlist. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: September 20, 2025] Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory

Sharon Van Etten and her new band The Attachment Theory headlined Saturday night’s Festival.  I saw SVE in 2019 (I loved her debut album).  But I wasn’t really sure I needed to see her again.  Then she announced a Free at Noon and I went.  And I regretted not seeing her full show at Union Transfer.  So I was pretty psyched that she was headlining tonight.  After Kathleen Edwards, we headed over and managed to get a spot standing pretty close to the stage.

The sun was setting and the atmosphere was building  And soon Sharon and the band came out.

It’s a little weird to start out by singing Who wants to live forever over and over, but I guess it works to build an atmosphere as the song got bigger and louder.  But for me the show really kicked of into high gear when they played Afterlife.  It’s a slow song with a lot of keys (Teeny Lieberson) and then a great bass line (Devra Hoff–whose bass work is outstanding both fretted and fretless). And when the chorus barrels in–the backing vocals are just gorgeous (Sharon picks the best backing vocalists).

They followed it up with the great single from the album, Idiot Box.  Another great bass line from Devra and Sharon picked up the guitar to play the main guitar line.  It’s such a great catchy song and it’s really fantastic live. (more…)

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[DID NOT ATTEND: April 30, 2025] Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory / Love Spells

It’s been a roller coaster of hits and misses with Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory this year.  I didn’t love Sharon’s previous two albums, so I wasn’t that interested in this show when it was announced.   But when they said she’d be doing a Free at Noon, I went and LOVED the new band and sound.  I thought about getting tickets to this show, but it had sold out.

Later in the summer my wife and I saw her headline XPoNential Fest and she was great.  Then my daughter and I missed her at All Things Go.

I don’t know how different her Union Transfer show was from her XPoNential Fest show, but the Fest show was so good, I don’t mind missing this one.

Love Spells is the mystic lovechild of 20-year-old singer-songwriter Sir Taegen C’aion Harris. Born and raised in Houston, TX, Harris marries ethereal vocals, delicate percussion, and soothing guitar riffs into a dreamy & nostalgic fusion of indie rock, psychedelia, and dream pop.

I listened to a song and it was soft and dream with whispery vocals.  A nice moody accompaniment to Sharon’s songs.

 

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[DID NOT ATTEND: February 7, 2025] Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory

I saw Sharon Van Etten live back in 2019.  I really enjoyed her set more than I thought I would.  And yet since then I haven’t really been that interested in her music as much.

She’s had a few songs (like this year’s Afterlife) that I’ve really liked, but when she announced a show at Union Transfer in April I was pretty meh about it.

Then it was announced that she and her new band were doing a Free at Noon, and I though that that was the best way to check her out.  And I’m so glad I went because her band (and the whole set) was fantastic.

I’m not sure how long these musicians have been playing with her, but word is that she solidified them as a band with this album and they record the album as a band rather than as a SVE project with backing musicians.  The Attachment Theory is Teeny Lieberson on keys, Shanna Polley on guitar, Jorge Balbi on drums, and bassist Devra Hoff.   When I saw her last time I didn’t know any of her band except for singer Heather Woods Broderick whose voice is amazing.  But Teeny Lieberson’s backing vocals suited Sharon’s perfectly, creating that hauntingly beautiful sound that Sharon does so well.

I was right in front of Devra, whose bass work was great (there was a some cool stuff on a fretless as well as a fretted bass).  The bass was a little loud in the mix for me since I was right in front of the speaker, but the opening bassline of Trouble was fantastic and I loved watching Devra play it. (more…)

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