In my last year of college, I spent the year abroad studying in London. I listen to concerts often because of my job, and abroad it was no different. I would take the train to each place, listening to my favorite songs by each artist as I looked out the window. I’d see other venues, look them up and try to see a show at ones that looked extra pretty or quaint.
And the best show, by far, and the only show that made me buy another ticket to their next show immediately after the first one ended, was Big Thief. Headed by legendary singer-songwriter Adrianne Lenker , the indie folk band consists of Buck Meek on guitar, James Krivchenia on drums, and, on tour, Joshua Crumbly on bass guitar. Lenker’s lyrics are at once introspective, thoughtful, and full of endless curiosity. In a songwriting class I took from her, she said she’d never seen a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, like Garageband or Pro Tools) and just knew they had an engineer, so, presumably, they record live in one take. After the show they played in London, I can see why. Somehow better than the recording by a landslide, the band (at the time including bassist Max Oleartchik) played so tightly and in sync, it felt like one person playing. I dragged my boyfriend there with me to see them the next night, and knew I had to see them again this year.
Seeing them at the Rady Shell in San Diego, right on the water, didn’t disappoint. They started off the night with a Lenker solo release, “Terminal Paradise.” The song was gentle and hypnotizing, and the band looked relaxed as they sank into playing together (they confirmed later in the show that they were, in fact, actually very relaxed from skipping soundcheck to go to the beach before the show. The band and crowd laughed as they apologized).