While it was over a week ago that I saw Noah and the Whale (@noahandthewhale) at Bowery, the night and how incredible it was still float through my mind. Perhapsbecause I had just arrived back from the bad mixes and inattentive crowds of SXSW, but that show was, for me, everything that a live performance should be: an incredibly stunning and inventive act played for an audience who, at least for the hour and a half the band was on stage, lived only for the next song. Everything from the lighting and mix to their dynamic stage presence indicated that this was a band with a great deal of musical depth and experience with crafting a live experience that people can take with them.
While their set was relatively long by Bowery standards, I can definitely claim to have been engaged the entire time. Mixing their acoustic and electric elements perfectly, each song was distinct in how it was presented. The string accents throughout gave the music an incredible richness while embellishments such as a simulated steel guitar were beautiful in their own right and added variation to the tone and genre of the songs.
Overall, the set was flawless, and I can’t wait for Noah and the Whale to make it back to New York. The earlier part of that day was, let’s call it, mediocre at best, and I was barely able to make the set after a heavily delayed flight from Austin. Despite the tone that was already set for me that night, I left smiling and with a clean slate. While that may sound cheesy, it’s absolutely true.
Do yourself a favor and grab a ticket to one of these before they sell out:
5/24 — San Diego, CA — San Diego Women’s Club
5/25 — Los Angeles, CA — El Rey
5/26 — San Francisco, CA — The Independent
5/27 — San Francisco, CA — The Independent
5/29 — Portland, OR — Doug Fir Lounge
5/30 — George, WA — Sasquatch Music Festival
5/31 — Vancouver — Biltmore Cabaret
6/02 — Salt Lake City, UT — Club Sound
6/04 — Denver, CO — Blue Bird
6/06 — Santa Fe, NM — Santa Fe Brewing Company
6/08 — Austin, TX — The Parish
6/09 — New Orleans, LA — The Parish
6/10 — Dallas, TX — Club Dada
6/11 — Houston, TX — Fitzgerald’s
6/13 — New Orleans, LA — One Eyed Jack
6/15 — Atlanta, GA — Variety Playhouse
6/16 — Raleigh, NC — Lincoln Theatre
6/17 — Washington, DC — 9:30 Club
6/18 — New York, NY — Irving Plaza
