Review & Photos by Kenneth Palacios

“Cafuné” is a word that describes the tender act of running your fingers through a loved one’s hair as a gesture of affection. And when the indie-pop duo with that name came to Boston, it felt just like that. 

The duo started as a side project when Noah Yoo and Sedona Schat met at New York University and worked on a song together in 2014. After making music for a while, they released their debut album Running in 2021 and signed to Elektra Records in 2022. As their third stop on the Alive Online Tour, Cafuné stopped by Boston for the first time in almost two years. As the crowd lined up outside Brighton Music Hall, Yoo and Schat emerged from the doors to walk out of the venue to get food, where people watched both excited and slightly surprised. The abrupt appearance that caught everyone off-guard sparked conversation between attendees wondering when they would be back or where they were going to get food, some even betting on how long it would take.  

The tour is in support of the recent release of their album Bite Reality. Joining Cafuné is Crushed, another indie group that started as an online friendship built on a shared playlist of ‘90s favorites such as The Sundays and Cowboy Junkies. Crushed came out to open up the stage and get the crowd ready. 

Anticipation built as people waited and held onto their spots at the barricade. Some would find their way up to the stage, while others roamed around to get merch or mingle. Everyone was eager for what was coming. As the chatter began to get louder and louder, the lights turned off in the house. As the stage began to glow up, the crowd started to blow up.

Opening the set, Cafuné played “The Moment,” the first song of Bite Reality. People sang along, threw hands up to the sky or around someone else, and began to chant every single word to the song and the night began. Cafuné played crowd favorites and people savored it. Every note of songs like “Reconsider,” “Tek It” and “Perspective” would have everyone screaming and jumping while going word for word with the lyrics, while songs like “Temporary Lover” and “Attack + Release” would have people swaying left and right, vibing out. Ending the set, the band played “Want Me Out” and the crowd bursted in cheer and laughter, with some left crying tears of joy Afterwards, everyone made their way out of a night to remember.