Autre Ne Veut headlined the second installment of the Institute of Contemporary Art’s “Wavelengths” summer concert series and ran us, ampoule and himself, through the emotional gamut in the process. First and foremost, the setting was absolutely gorgeous. The back deck of the ICA is right on the harbor and we were the recipients of weather worth romanticizing. Despite being outside, the space was rather intimate. While there was covered amphitheater-esque seating, there was a large slice of standing room that stretched from the stage through the entire length of the deck with mini-bars located throughout. It was perfect for a Friday evening in the summer.

While the night was set to feature both Ava Luna and Autre Ne Veut, an unexpected travel delay from New York City to Boston blocked the former from making an appearance. Despite being somewhat marred by extraneous circumstances, the evening was a pleasant one. Luckily, the wristbands for the show also entitled everyone to access to the ICA’s galleries (which featured some phenomenal pieces by Jim Hodges) so I was able to make good use of some extra time before the music started.

Autre Ne Veut’s visceral set began after the sun went down. They cycled the intro for hit single “Play by Play” for minutes before breaking into the rest of the tune. Front-man and principal songwriter, Arthur Ashin, has a way of breaking away from the vocal rhythm established in his songs. His syncopated ad-libs helped project the immense emotive tone of his work. While his breakthrough album, Anxiety, was a personal window more often than not, I wasn’t prepared for just how incredibly it would come across in a live setting.

Ashin was raw. Displaying no sense of preservation of his voice (luckily there was tea on stage), he completely poured himself into every word, and his vocals ended up being just as much as a vehicle for emotion as the lyrics. At times it looked like he was even pained by the content which ranged from love and loss to his own jealousy and mortality. His eyes were often closed as he sang and he lithely moved with the music. I almost felt intrusive watching the performance, as if he was diving into his diary and belting words that he never intended to leave the pages. For the entirety of “Gonna Die,” he stood on top of his keyboard stool and at one point had his arms extended as if the music was presenting some sort of higher truth. He was simply on his own level.

He was backed by phenomenal talent as well; while they utilized a simple setup, his drummer and backup vocalist made each song more three-dimensional. The real drum kit brought the hybrid R&B/hip-hop/jazz beats to life, and the drummer added subtle intricacies that felt akin to the improvised lyrical pacing. It was especially evident on “Promises” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” that another voice to harmonize with, rather than his own in recordings, adds tremendous depth and just plain sounds better. The two vocalists engaged in some back-and-forth phrasing during “Warning” that was both unexpected and slick.

The set was slightly interrupted by Ashin saying, “Now I’m going to tell a joke. I’ve only ever done this twice before”. In an exhibition of earnest showmanship, he kept the audience engaged as he delivered his wonderfully long-winded gag. While I wouldn’t recommend a sudden shift to stand-up comedy, he had the entire audience, which was a mix of fans and ICA members, laughing by the end of it. Before leaving the stage, they performed their first single, “Counting,” which I could have heard another four straight times as an encore and still felt blown away. Ashin even dropped Mykki Blanco’s verse from the remix, but with a wild fervency that better matched the song’s tenor. While we didn’t hear it another four times, during their encore we were privileged to hear their very first performance of a brand new song which was laden with powerful piano and spirited drums. For a little over an hour Ashin let us a little farther into his world, and we listened.

Next up in the “Wavelengths” series:
Peaches (DJ set)
Friday, July 25
The Institute of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA
6:30 p.m. – $20 ICA members + students /$25 non-members