Review by Molly Ho, photos by Izzy Hory.
To any Harry Styles fan, the name Mitch Rowland will sound familiar. Instead of being seen supporting the ex-boy band Brit, the backup guitarist embarks on his first headlining tour, trading sold-out stadiums filled with mini-skirts and cowboy boots, for a calmer, older crowd— plus the occasional diehard Styles fan. In fact, he has 10x more Instagram followers than Spotify listeners. Despite the stark change in venue, Rowland nevertheless commanded The Fillmore on February 25th with the same calming presence as before.
To prepare the audience for his somber but spirited set, Harris Harper opened with her brother CJ Harper for an acoustic set. Her music is reminiscent of Leith Ross, with a delicacy to her voice and creating an intimate ambiance between her and the crowd. However, the delicacy of her set was matched with a bit of shyness, as she went straight into playing original songs that I did not know the titles of. That being said, this was the first show of the tour and probably one of the bigger crowds she has performed to, so I sympathize with her nerves. In Harper’s song “Make You Quit” the rawness of her voice shines through in the chorus, balanced by the subtle background piano and guitar—forging a bond with the audience, myself included. Nevertheless, her performance was apt and chill, clearly setting a calmer ambiance for the main act.
The audience itself was a bit strange, with an interesting mix of One Direction super fans at the barricade — each sharing past concert stories on how close they were to Harry Styles and their favorite “hair era” of his — to a traditional San Francisco crowd filled with 30-year-old local hipsters sipping an IPA. Yet surprisingly, everyone grooved along to his songs, relaxing instead of being pinned against a barricade with thousands of other people. I had the lucky opportunity of being in the photo pit for the beginning, and while I did overhear snarky comments about taking photos on my phone, the minute I saw Rowland and his band up close on stage along with subtle blue lighting, I immediately felt at peace and cherished the close distance to the band.
Pop frivolity is exchanged for a laid-back folksy vibe and accompanied by his wife Sarah Jones on drums (they met while on tour as part of Styles’ band). Immediately as they stepped on stage, their chemistry was palpable, occasionally making eye contact during an instrumental song break. You can tell they simply just get each other and their music, complementing each other to create a beautiful melody. His first album Come June is lyrically and astonishingly composed with a gentle harmonic undertone. His song “Blue Bells” brilliantly displays his guitar skills, as well as his not-so-well-known vocal prowess. He debuted a new song “Carry On With Your Tea,” which perhaps is an ode to his British bandmate, that he sang with such care to every lyric, that one could practically see his heart in his lyrics, adoring his wife on drums.
Beyond the couple, the band had great chemistry as a whole, sharing smiles and grooving to each others’ solos. As it was the first show, the set began a little more tense, but as each member settled into the beautiful music, each shared a lively expression and confidence through the songs. In his encore, Rowland played a touching acoustic cover of “Oh Sweet Nuthin’” — a personal favorite of mine from The Velvet Underground — ending the night with a peaceful bang!
