Last Friday night, Weaves shook the walls of the Middle East Upstairs with their energetic live set. Fresh off the release of their new album Wide Open, they brought the house down with the help of strong support from Tancred and Lost Dog.

 

Vocalist Jasmyn Burke had a captivating yet unassuming stage presence, letting her soaring vocals do most of the heavy lifting while she gently moved around the stage, nonchalantly rolling her eyes at some of the music’s most energetic sections. She seemed at ease whether singing with a rock ‘n roll wail or with a more reserved, intimate tone during the set’s quieter moments.

 

Her relaxed nature played off the high energy levels of the rest of the band. Drummer Spencer Cole can switch between tight playing and loose grooves, while the bass lines of Zach Bines add a pulsating low end. Guitarist Morgan Waters has a seemingly-endless bag of tricks and licks; at one point, he could be seen raising his hollow-body guitar to his mouth and singing right into one of the holes, which created a strange, but undeniably cool, vocal feedback effect.

 

Overall, Weaves give the impression that they are a unit completely comfortable with each other’s styles and tendencies. This familiarity lets them switch between the very tight, precise rock of Wide Open and the much looser experimentation of their self-titled EP and album. No song felt out of place, and one gets the sense that they’ve developed a strong understanding and comfort with each other’s tendencies when performing. 

 

Weaves touch on such a wide, versatile cross-section of rock genres, from oddly tuned noise a la Sonic Youth to the rockabilly bounce of Wide Open’s “Slicked.” But no song felt out of place, and it was clear that the band has worked out a good set of transitions between new and old. They have a few more tour dates in North America in the coming days before setting out to Europe and the U.K.