Intimacy is a hard thing to come by in music. As an artist, it’s difficult to open up and really give yourself to the songs. But sometimes musicians find the perfect recipe and really craft the perfect music. That was the case at Waxahatchee’s show at Arts At The Armory in Somerville.
Allison Crutchfield got things started started off. She played music from her newly released solo EP Lean In To It, and was accompanied by Sam Cook-Parrott from Radiator Hospital on bass. The two are good friends and have been touring together on what they dubbed “The Best Friends Tour.”
Radiator Hospital came up next. This time around, Sam played solo. Curiously, he chose to perform with an electric guitar. Last time he came through Boston, he played roughly the same songs but acoustic. His voice is loud enough to fill a room, but he chose to be plugged in and mic’ed up regardless. He is an earnest songwriter, and is one of the most humble people I’ve ever seen on stage. Performing solo was a good choice, though. Most of his music is quite personal, and when presented bare bones they took on a new, but even warmer feel.
Arts At The Armory is an interesting venue. Its name summarizes the venue best; somewhere along the line, the decision was made to take an aged armory and repurpose it as a music venue. The setting was intimate but also oddly industrial. It’s a medium-sized venue, so there were massive speakers, loads of industrial lights, and a large screen that went completely unused during the evening. Its presence was almost comical behind the honest songwriters.
Sam even noted, “Ive never played music in a room meant to hold guns,” which jokingly summed up the loveable but strange vibe of the venue.
The Armory is a seated venue, which only augmented the intimate nature of the evening. They even had vegan baked goods for sale; major props for that. In between each song, an assortment of alternative rock and nu metal was played on the house speakers, which felt very out of place amongst the various Waxahatchee fans. I’ve never heard so many Sublime songs played in one place.
Waxahatchee finished off the night with a deeply introspective set that only she could deliver. Katie Crutchfield showcased a good deal of new material, as well as some of the best highlights from her two albums. The new material is different (she played one song along to a synthesizer riff) but still retains the charm that always shines out in her music. Her writing style has evolved, but certainly not gone flat.
Songs “Swandive” and “Bathtub” were played back to back, which was a one-two punch to the gut. Waxahatchee’s songs are so raw and personal that they can leave you feeling completely exposed. That’s just the listener’s perspective—I can hardly imagine how Crutchfield must have felt playing them.
Waxahatchee is the brainchild of Katie Crutchfield, but she chose to perform with an extra guitarist for almost every song. Other times she was joined by her sister, Alison Crutchfield. Their two voices, whether they sang harmony or the same melody, mixed perfectly together. Being twins, the timbres of their voices were particularly compatible. Performing alongside other musicians didn’t affect the immediacy or the fragile nature of her set.
Waxahatchee’s music is very intimate, and the venue lent itself well to that. Crutchfield even played “Noccalula” the closer from her debut. “Noccalula” is one of the most obvious windows into her life, mentioning her sister by name, and also the origins of why she named this project “Waxahatchee.” It only seemed appropriate to have it on the night’s setlist. The crowd stayed quiet and listened to every detail that came out of the speakers. In fact, each set held the audience, while still remaining powerful. Overall, the entire night was a glimpse into three very talented songwriters’ lives. They left nothing to the imagination, delivering an intimate sound in an even more intimate setting.
