Earlier this May, singer songwriter Laura Stevenson released The Big Freeze, her first album since 2015’s Cocksure. The 10 track LP brings listeners through a series of songs that come off sounding soft on the surface, but each is loaded with emotional weight. Stevenson’s Boston performance brought The Big Freeze’s energy to life on stage, as well as much of her older material. She was joined by Me in Capris, as well as her touring partner Kississippi, who played solo set.
Roslindale based power-pop four piece Me In Capris opened up the night. The band released a remastered version of their album For Those Who You Think in August of last year, and many songs from that record made appearances in their live set. Front person Adam Demirjian commented that they planned to play a more of a quiet set that night, but that didn’t stop them from showcasing their usual energetic stage presence. Highlights included songs like “Little Faith,” “A Bit of Romance,” and their somewhat topical closer, “Summer of Scowling.”
Following Me in Capris, Kississippi took to the stage, accompanied only by her guitar, drum machine, and pop star-esque headset mic. Kississippi played many of the songs from her 2018 album Sunset Blush, with standout tracks including “Mirror Kisser” and closing song “Cut Yr Teeth.” She also played two unreleased tracks from her newest project, giving fans something to look forward to hearing more of in the future.
Last up was Laura Stevenson, whose set was chock full of emotionally heavy songs, but also had some lighter moments. Many of these moments happened in between songs as she bantered with the crowd, sharing anecdotes about mouth guards, thoughts about kitchen appliances, and some light hearted interaction with the audience.
Throughout the night, Stevenson was accompanied on stage by many different combinations of musicians. Some songs were played with just her and a cellist (which she referred to as the “mini fridge”), some consisted of her, a drummer, and a bassist, and some were played with all members of her backing band (the “full fridge”). But the most intimate moments of the night placed Stevenson in center stage with just her guitar, and during songs like “Nervous Rex,” the crowd was silent and still enough to hear even the softest sounds. Stevenson closed the night out with “Perfect,” the last track on The Big Freeze, and returned to the stage for an encore performance of “Tom Sawyer.”
See below for photos from the show (in order: Laura Stevenson, Kississippi, and Me in Capris):