Berklee alum Adrianne Lenker, accompanied by opener Suzanne Vallie, warmed the atmosphere of the Shubert Theatre for the nights of November 12 and 13. With a simple stage of instruments and amplifiers arranged on an ornate rug, the musicians rested on chairs with mugs of tea and water.
Unknown to many members of the audience, small improvisational musician Vallie started the night off with a mystical set. She spaced her songs between beautiful stories of observations she had during her days in Boston. With many hearing her music for the first time, the audience filed into their seats, ears filled with a rich and magical sound.
The delicate but deep keyboard accompaniment and Vallie’s southern accent and sweet voice charmed the room. Her lyrical talent impressed the audience, especially her song “Love Lives Where Rules Die.” From my spot in the back row, I watched many crowd members pull out their phones in between songs to add Vallie to their playlists.
Amidst technical difficulties on night two, Adrianne Lenker filled the theater with giggles, sniffles and smiles. She showed up human, a quality rarely seen on stage with a culture of perfect performances. Many things went awry, with mistakes in tuning, lighting difficulties and sound spikes from the microphones, but Lenker kept the audience laughing and engaged. Her performance felt intimate, as if the audience were huddled together in her living room around a warm fire.
The music coming from Lenker in her solo songs, as well as with the friends she invited on stage, felt as though it was a special kind of magic shared between the performers and the audience. The whole audience was at attention. Lenker’s voice touched the souls of each being in the audience, drawing emotion with her gentle but strong voice and intricate arrangements.
Tears mingled with wide smiles and mouths moved alongside the lyrics, whispering, “I don’t wanna talk about anything / I wanna kiss, kiss your eyes again / Wanna witness your eyes looking.” We were fully present to appreciate the beautiful chords and melodies swirling around the theater.
While tuning her guitar in between songs, Adrianne Lenker remarked that she “felt odd” due to the many mistakes but was eternally grateful for her supportive and compassionate crowd. The night was filled with understanding and a realness that many artists are unable to replicate on stage. Despite mistakes and falters, the performance was absolutely perfect, reflecting the delicate nature of humanity.
