Photos and review by ALYSON CAMUS
LOS ANGELES – Sharon Van Etten has taken on different incarnations over the course of her seven studio albums. At the very least, it’s clear she has moved on – from her indie-folk beginnings to atmospheric synths and Springsteen-like anthems. Her current project is a record written in collaboration with her new bandmates, who make up Attachment Theory.
With her black lace dress and her hair in a high bun, Sharon Van Etten looked like a post-punk goddess. The music, with its dark moods and synth-bass throb, sounded noticeably different from the last Sharon Van Etten show I attended. While the tone leaned more goth-inspired, the music didn’t lose any of its confessional intimacy or sweeping beauty, with its dreamy rock escapades and funky electro struts.
Rather than classic verse-chorus structures, the new tracks seemed more centered around moods and grooves. They were very rhythmic – as emphasized by Sharon’s rapid arm movements on stage. I must admit, I hadn’t even listened to the new album before going to the show, and even though I wasn’t familiar with the new tunes, they worked incredibly well.
“Who wants to live forever?” she repeated like a mantra during the opening song, “Live Forever,” as a keyboard pulsed behind her. Her beautiful and emotive voice swelled over a haunting synth melody, enveloping the room in a melancholic embrace. When the band gradually joined in, the layers of instrumentation added texture and intensity to the cathartic track. It was a magnificent and powerful opening, setting the tone for a performance that lasted just over an hour and a half. Seven of the first eight songs came from the band’s self-titled album, a collaboration between Van Etten and Jorge Balbi (drums), Devra Hoff (bass), Teeny Lieberson (keys), and Shanna Polley (guitar).
“It feels so good to be back home!” she said before the contemplative “Afterlife,” continuing her exploration of (im)mortality with a hook to die for. “Someone inside me saved me / Made me see the light / Someone had to make it feel alright,” she sang, her pure vocals softly soaring above bright keyboard pings. The steady, infectious beat of “Idiot Box” had everyone nodding along to her enthusiastic “Let’s go!” – an invitation to disconnect from screen obsession. “All that skin against the glass,” she obsessively repeated during the song. There’s a notable amount of lyrical repetition in these new tracks, which often function like magical mantras.
Of course, the beloved older songs had their place in the show – such was the case with “Comeback Kid,” featuring Sharon’s raw, force-of-nature vocals over a sea of clapping hands. The song resonated powerfully with the crowd as Sharon effortlessly moved from keyboard to guitar, to slaying the stage with the mic in one hand.
Between songs, she was quite talkative: “I’m so in this moment right now and I just have to say, playing the new songs from the new record has been really really really fun. Being in my 40s and now having my first real band! … it’s been really rejuvenating for me, and it means a lot that you’re all here to share the new songs with us… we will be sprinkling older songs throughout the set because all those versions of me are still there.”
“I Can’t Imagine” had a fun, upbeat tempo, and I couldn’t help but think of Talking Heads – even before the next song, the high-speed, hand-clapping “Somethin’ Ain’t Right,” which, interestingly, included the repetitive line “He said it’s the same / Same as it ever was.” The inspiration behind these new songs is all over the place, but in this case, the reference was more than obvious.
Embodying the energy of the music, Sharon’s stage presence was a commanding force – animated at times, with her dynamic arm movements mirroring the songs’ rhythmic shifts. She explored a different vocal range, stepping outside her trademark wail during the post-punk-charged “Southern Life.”
After “Trouble” – a nonchalant tune featuring the delicious vocal highs of “I don’t want to lose you / Not if I can choose to” – she returned to older songs and more familiar territory, much to the audience’s delight, reaffirming just how skilled a songwriter she is. She captivated the crowd with the ascending poignancy of “No One’s Easy to Love,” the savage beauty of “Anything,” and the angry rawness of “Hands.” But she wasn’t done telling stories. “It feels like I’ve grown up with everybody here!… That was a very specific record… they’ve all been very pivotal in my career, but I feel like I’ve learned how to lean into a lot of my influences,” she shared, before explaining the significance of the triptych backdrop – abstract artwork created by one of her former roadies, Max, with whom she became very close. “Every Time the Sun Comes Up,” with its infectious chorus, sounded like an old ’80s classic and turned into a giant clap-along.
Praising the bandmates with whom she wrote the songs on the new album, she announced, “We only have a few more songs left.” Then she added: “I just have to say that it’s been a beautiful tour across the country. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to travel the world with. It takes a lot to leave your home and give up a big part of your life to pursue this kind of lifestyle, and I just want you to meet everybody before we say goodbye for a while, because I’ve never felt so creative in my life!”
She dedicated the majestic and moving “Tarifa” to David Lynch, as the song is featured on the soundtrack of the Twin Peaks reboot. “David left a lot of mysteries behind for us to never solve, and we hope we honor him with this version of ‘Tarifa,’” she added. Everyone sang along during the Springsteen-esque anthem “Seventeen,” which turned into a touching duet between Sharon and an enthusiastic fan in the front row – she knelt in front of him as they sang together. The fan was so thrilled that she gave him the setlist at the end of the show. Her versatile voice was as brilliant as ever – often mesmerizing. But before the encore, there was time for one more collaborative song: “I Want You Here,” a slow burn that closed the main set.
“I remember every version of myself and that every single version is still here… it was brought to my attention I haven’t been playing anything from my first couple of records, I’m going to play you one from my first album.” It was an opportunity to shine once more during a dramatic, stripped-down performance of “I Wish I Knew.” The intimacy of this solo moment was stunning, as her crystalline and incredible voice filled the venue, commanding complete attention.
They closed with “Fading Beauty,” a dreamy meditation she wrote in the desert about her father-in-law, who has dementia, she explained. Before the soft keyboard boops of the song – a reflection on the ephemeral nature of life – she shared, “When you watch people fade, it’s sad, but it’s also really beautiful. All I can say is that all we have is right now, so be as present as possible.” As her voice soared once again above the hypnotic atmosphere, the emotion was palpable in the audience, and the vulnerability and poignancy of the moment were unmatched.
Opening group Love Spells set an immediate melodic and intimate vibe, thanks to the frontman’s whispered vocals over layers of acoustic guitar and gentle drumming. The music – the solo project of Sir Taegen C’aion Harris – blended shoegaze, dreamy pop, melancholy, and yearning, sprawling into layered, almost jazzy instrumentation at times. “Come Over and Love Me” had a real earworm sweetness, while “Lovers Only” leaned more toward dynamic shoegaze. With the same ethereal falsetto, he ventured into a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”… “You’re going to love me or hate me after that,” he joked. His set included some unreleased music, and overall, his swooning and delicate vocals reminded me a bit of the band Cigarettes After Sex.
Sharon Van Etten Setlist
Live Forever
Afterlife
Idiot Box
Comeback Kid (Sharon Van Etten song)
I Can’t Imagine (Why You Feel This Way)
Somethin’ Ain’t Right
Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)
Trouble
No one’s easy to love
Anything
Hands
Every Time the Sun Comes Up (Sharon Van Etten song)
Tarifa (Sharon Van Etten song)
Seventeen (Sharon Van Etten song)
I Want You Here
Encore:
I Wish I Knew (Sharon Van Etten song)
Fading Beauty
