Big Thief frontwoman and indie folk hall-of-famer Adrianne Lenker is notorious for her lyrical, often heart-wrenching storytelling and stripped acoustic melodies. In support of her latest solo record Bright Future, Lenker took her friends, guitar, and lava lamps across the US, landing in Oakland, CA on June 17th.
That warm evening, the line to get inside the Fox Theater spanned five blocks before doors even opened. Every twenty-something-year-old East Bay lesbian you know was there, donning jorts / tiered maxi skirts / lacy white tank tops and hiding their foreheads behind expertly styled bangs. It was like NYFW for Berkeley queers. We all spilled into the large theater room, supervised by the glowing green eyes of the Buddha-esque figures sitting on either side of the stage.
About an hour after doors opened, singer, pianist, and longtime friend and collaborator of Lenker, Nick Hakim, takes the stage. Hakim’s vocals, aided only by an upright piano, are soulful, warm, like sharing a deep secret. Each key is played with utmost intention and sincerity. The crowd silently drinks up every word as Hakim sings lyrics regaling family, his childhood, and more.
When Adrianne Lenker walks onstage, the crowd erupts into cheers. Sitting barefoot between two blue lava lamps and surrounded by hundreds of people in the huge concert hall, she looks small and vulnerable, as if we had all walked into a practice session in her living room. She perches her acoustic guitar on her lap, cradling it like a baby, and begins to play a stripped-back version of Big Thief’s “Simulation Swarm” from their 2022 album Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe in You. Her masterful guitar flourishes are met with whoops and hollers from the crowd; she smirks and continues, showing off. Lenker’s voice warbles and cracks unapologetically, imbuing her performance with deep emotion and creating an even more intimate atmosphere.
Somwehere between “12,000 Lines” and “two reverse,” I start to feel a little lightheaded, having been standing in the hot, crowded venue for over two hours. Before I know it, I lose balance and bump into anywhere from two to five strangers mid-song, then am ushered by my friends to the back of the crowd to get sorted out. That being said, I was a little out of it for the remainder of the show. When I come to, I look onstage and see a fan that Lenker kindly invited on stage, sobbing between harmonica notes accompanying Lenker’s acoustic rendition of “Indiana” from a-sides. There’s no harmonica in the studio recording of the song, but Lenker remarks with a chuckle afterwards that it seemed like it belonged there.
Following the impromptu harmonica accompaniment, Lenker invites her younger brother Noah to play the jaw harp as she performs the quirky-yet-sentimental Big Thief song “Spud Infinity” from DNWMIBIY. The crowd passionately sings along to lyrics like “When I say celestial / I mean extra-terrestrial / I mean accepting the alien you’ve rejected in your own heart” as the siblings exchange comforting glances and giggles throughout the song. Noah’s jaw harp addition, which is featured in the original studio recording, really makes the song, and it’s hard to imagine “Spud Infinity” without the froggy, springy sound of the little instrument.
More guests (re)appear in the final act of the show. Nick Hakim returns to the stage to play piano, and musician Josefin Runsteen joins them with violin in hand. During “forwards beckon rebound,” Lenker and Hakim harmonize over gentle guitar strums, their voices complementing each other perfectly and floating over the crowd like a ghost. Another highlight is a rendition of the ever-evolving “Vampire Empire,” this time slow, gentle, and almost haunting as opposed to the raw, punchy version that Big Thief released as a single last September. The crowd knows all the lyrics and sings along, feeling every word. A personal favorite of mine was “Sadness as a Gift” from Bright Future. Had I not been experiencing searing stomach pain and nausea at this point, I would have started full-on sobbing to that song. The nostalgic, bittersweet lyrics serve as a reminder that it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, a sentiment beautifully conveyed with Lenker and Hakim’s mingling harmonies.
After a fast-paced performance of “symbol” from her 2018 album abysskiss, Lenker thanks the audience and takes a theatrical bow, arms interlocked with Hakim and Runsteen, before walking offstage. The trio promptly return for an encore performance of the sweet, vignette-like song “anything” from songs. As she sits down and picks up her guitar one last time for the night, Lenker endearingly stumbles over expressed appreciation – “We’re all here again. Thanks for making the night so special. This one goes out to you… I mean, all of them are, but y’know…”.
With final giggles and gratitudes, Lenker and friends bid a last goodbye and send the crowd out into the warm summer night with broken hearts and beaming smiles.
Review by Gaby Smith
