“I’ve gotta break up sincerity with humor every now and again,” said Julien Baker after making her audience laugh and moments before launching into her devastating song “Sprained Ankle” at a sold-out but intimate show at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, on tour for her 2021 album “Little Oblivions.”
Opening for the show was Thao, a singer-songwriter based out of San Francisco. Also known as “Thao & The Get Down Stay Down,” Thao’s music is expressive, at times furious and at times mellow. Thao switched between the mandolin and electric guitar, accompanied by a bassist and drummer. The set was an eclectic mix of contradictory sound, simultaneously jarring and mesmerizing. It was reflective of Thao’s cross-genre style and wide variety of musical influences.
For the last song of their set, Thao invited Julien Baker and her band on stage to join in for “Fool Forever.” The two bands engaged in a call and response with the audience, each leading a different half of the room. The two bands’ joint energy was contagious and uplifting and got the crowd dancing before Baker’s set.
Baker opened with “Hardline,” the first song off of “Little Oblivions.” The poppy but melancholy song is a devastating exploration of addiction and sobriety, of toeing the line “between medicine and poison.” Much of “Little Oblivions” deals with Baker’s relapse during the pandemic and subsequent recovery.
Her repertoire is full of gripping deep cuts, especially affecting when performed in front of a live audience. Several of her lyrics retain a surreal, dream-like melancholia: “I’ll wrap Orion’s Belt around my neck and kick the chair out” off of “Heatwave,” for example, or “The walls of my skull bend backwards / And in like a labyrinth” off of “Something.” Her heartrending lyrics and forceful vocals struck a chord with audience members, many of whom were teenagers or young adults, including several groups of Smith students.
Despite the captivatingly desolate content of her music, Baker retained an air of humble playfulness between songs. She encouraged the audience to join in at any point. “I like it,” she said, “whether you want to sing, scream, or just randomly vocalize.” She played “Sprained Ankle” and several following songs solo, breaking up several loud, intense songs with an intimate, minimalist feel.
Before launching into “Sprained Ankle,” Baker calmly noted, “This one may not be for everybody, and if it’s not for you, that’s okay.” Refreshing in light of her devastatingly raw lyrics, her aura onstage reflected a distinct confidence and calm.
Together with the audience, Baker underwent a kind of cathartic metamorphosis throughout her set. “Repeat” and “Sour Breath” drove many audience members to tears before she brought back the rest of the band and launched into extended loud and upbeat instrumentals for the next part of the set.
Baker ended the show with “Appointments,” a song about accepting mental illness, trying to heal and difficult emotional relationships. The song’s final lyrics thematically encapsulate much of her music: “Maybe it’s all gonna turn out alright / And I know that it’s not, but I have to believe that it is.” The song’s powerful rawness was a final cathartic release. Baker left the stage, and the room settled post-crescendo.
