Julien Baker at the Metro
Concerts have always been a place where I recharge. They’re the perfect introverted activity because you’re doing something social and are around people but you are still to yourself. I always leave feeling better and refreshed as if I spent an afternoon at a spa. I made my return to live music this month, and I cannot be more thrilled. Julien Baker’s incredible performance at the Metro last Thursday wasn’t my first performance back, but that didn’t make it any less special.
The crowd was a sea of denim, marking Chicago’s inauguration of fall in the truest way possible. I felt a lot younger than the majority of the crowd, even though in actuality there was only a handful of years between us. It took me back to the days when I first started going to shows in Chicago by myself. I was able to sneak in pretty close to the stage on the right hand-side and got a constant profile view of the lovely Julien Baker. Was I directly next to a large speaker? Yes, but I luckily remembered my ear plugs.
Julien quickly launched into her first song, and LED vertical bars of light glowed yellow as the first few chords rang out. The hue matched the accent colors on the cover of her most recent album, Little Oblivions, which was released earlier this year in February.
It must be stated, I was not a super fan of Julien Baker. I was familiar with her work, but I was not going to be one of those people singing along to every word. Especially since I didn’t find out I was even going to the concert until the day before. I loved her contributions to boygenius, a supergroup containing Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien herself. I enjoyed everything I had heard from her, but I hadn’t taken the time to fully immerse myself. So, yes, I was slightly a fake fan, but seeing her live fully converted me to go to battle for her.
She had a full band behind her and overwhelmingly felt more rock than the last time I saw her at Pitchfork Music Festival in 2018. Her sound felt more full and lush than it did then. Her recent album was more ‘rock’ influenced and for-lack-of-a-better-word, louder, than her other work. Little Oblivions felt more of a punch musically than her previous work, especially when combined with her always on-point lyrics.
In between songs as she tuned her guitar, she shared her love of Chicago (Chicago fans are usually very easy to win over), and muttered other random thoughts and observations through her day. It all felt very genuine, but was a funny contrast to her performance which was bold and dominating. She seemed suddenly shy and surprised by the size of the crowd that was in front of her, as if she just noticed it. Julien Baker was that unassuming shy kid that blew everyone away at the high school talent show.
Baker felt incredibly intimidating whilst performing, with complete control over her guitar while her long brown hair was flying and spiraling in every direction, obviously impairing her vision. But, upon stopping playing she would be a person I’d ask for directions on the street. Not only was her guitar playing incredible, as well as her talented band, her lyrics also shown through. The concert being on Bruce Springsteen’s birthday felt apt, as she hypnotized the crowd with her tales. A lot of her songs touch on her relationship with Christianity in relation to her sexuality and covered situations that stood out in the indie-rock sphere.
One element that I was surprised about was the overwhelming lack of cellphone usage, (and this wasn’t mandated by the venue). The crowd was incredibly tame and subdued, although this made sense for her music, I knew that there was not going to be any moshing involved. But, I was used to seeing a plethora of phones blocking my view, but I saw a few here or there to snap a photo, but people were dialed into the present, and this was so refreshing. The crowd was filled with fans and there was a lot of concert courtesy, which I loved to see. I was glad people didn’t forget how to properly act at a concert after a quarantine.
It was so easy to write her off as a sad singer/songwriter...which she was, but she was so much more than that, the intricacies fully on display through her performance. Some of her songs had explosions in them, building very slowly, and all of a sudden howling like a screaming tea kettle. And, I loved the way she played around with loud and quiet because it was surprising! I liked being shocked! There was nothing that compared to when a band came all together, and hearing this live was nothing short of rattling.
She excelled both with a full band and just her and her guitar. I was also surprised to find out that she also plays the piano? It was truly not fair for her to be that beautiful, have a voice like that, be a heartbreaking lyricist, and a virtuoso?
Julien’s talent has grown since I last saw her and I cannot wait to have her break me with her lyrics for years to come. This performance has made me a fan for life. She has a long tour ahead of her, so if you get the opportunity to see her-- do whatever you can, take a cross country train if you must! Or at the very least check out her three albums and make sure to watch some of her live performances, you’ll fall in love, I bet. Her talent will only get more sophisticated and she’s only going to get better.