Wisp at The Sinclair
Blowing in like a western wind, the San Francisco-based TikTok sensation Wisp stopped by The Sinclair this past Saturday. After quietly sneaking onstage in the dark, a single strobe beamed from upstage, silhouetting the shoegaze artist for the packed crowd. Throughout songs, the strobe veered between rapid and static, something that – if not for how cool it looked – would have been otherwise pretty distracting. Occasionally the strobe would dim, gently revealing the soft pink hues of singer Natalie R. Lu’s hair. Joined only by two other band mates onstage, the minimal design really let the music soar. Ripping through her modest discography, songs like “Enough for you” and “Mimi” fought to bleed through ear plugs and kicked the crowd into high gear.
Warming up the stage before Wisp, Bedroom Eyes brought a suitably raucous energy to set the mood. The heads were bobbing and hips swaying to the distant vocals of singer Adam Meran, tucked behind a booming soundscape. As more of the crowd filed in, the energy only continued to brew, reaching a boiling point as the first set ended – leaving everyone hungry for the main course. By the end of the evening we were fully fed and many shoes were offended having been gazed at for so long.
Wisp at The Sinclair
Watching those around me, there was something delightfully bizarre about a young Boston audience chanting “hey!” while throwing themselves around gleefully to songs about opening old wounds (“Pandora”) and feeling unwanted (“Your Face”). But these songs really take a new shape in a live setting, the power of each finally becoming fully realized, having leapt out of everyone’s For You page and onto the stage. Standing in one spot for most of the show, Lu allowed the sound to fill the space completely, letting everyone sink into the music.
Courtesy of Wisp’s Instagram
Thanking the crowd for their energy at every chance she had, it was clear Wisp was enjoying the show as much as the adoring fans were. Feeding into the crowd’s chants, bobbing her head along and smiling ear to ear, it was a lovely reminder why going to shows in Boston can be a wonderful experience. Not only are we usually close to the start or end of most tours (a positive either way IMO), but crowds just seem to enjoy themselves more here. Most of them having queued up early outside, leaving plenty of time to snag a good spot and catch Boston-based openers Bedroom Eyes.
It’s so lovely to catch an up-and-coming performer like Wisp so early on in their career/fame, that really the only detriment was the lack of more songs to be heard. The show wrapped up respectfully around 10pm, but it won’t be too long before Wisp hits the festival circuit, gets a few more releases under their belt and returns bigger and even bolder than before.
For more information on Wisp follow their Instagram and visit their website here!