Haw River Ballroom Hillsborough, NC
Contact: lisag@grandstandhq.com
Players: Julien Baker, guitar, piano, vocals; Torres, guitar, vocals; Hannah Reid, vocals; Noah Forbes, keys; Larz Brogan, percussion, bass; Matt Sweeney, lead guitars, electric piano; Calvin, percussion
It's hard to get your head above the country music waterline these days, but amid the clamor and confusion, a surprising duo has emerged from the crossroads: Julien Baker and Torres, a duo of beautiful voices, distinctly different backgrounds with a shared soul.
The sold-out crowd at The Haw River Ballroom was all in for this country love fest, led with spark and spangle by Julien and Torres (Mackenzie Ruth Scott) in a well-rehearsed stage set that was fun, tongue-in-cheek, and belied the earnest delivery of their brand of four-chord-country. With them upfront, the laid-back tour band did the work, laying tight grooves that left plenty of room for the quirky and delightful stage banter between them and their adoring audience.
It's a tribute to their writing for this new record Send a Prayer My Way that it produced so many memorable and radio-rockin’ songs! The show exploded off the mark with “The Only Marble I’ve Got Left,” followed closely by “Off the Wagon,” then right into “Sylvia,” “Dirt,” “Showdown,” and especially “Bottom of a Bottle.” The loose arrangement of the stage band delivered a powerful, audience-friendly, and definitively queer country show, and the packed-up-front, stage-sardines edge of the room literally went bingo-bango with giddy delight!
A beautifully articulated George Strait cover of “Carrying Your Love with Me” preceded “Tuesday,” “Downhill Both Ways,” and an outstanding version of Merle Haggard's “Mama Tried” that left most of the under-25 crowd trying to place it.
Digging farther into the catalog, the moody, atmospheric quality of Baker’s lyrical, confessional writing contrasted with the material in an off-groove symmetry, making the songs even more off-putting and, paradoxically, even more emotionally accessible. Scott adds a much needed musically padded room, designed to keep everything bubbling under in a state of controlled musical cyclonic turmoil.
“Goodbye, Baby” and “Sugar in The Tank” rounded out a well-paced, still a bit frantic, but deliciously musical evening, punctuated by endless applause and wacky and endearing stage banter, plus a diminutive, just under the surface vulnerability that makes the best live shows that much better.
