Concert Review: Big Thief Are Like A Cup of Tea At Webster

At Webster Hall, Big Thief played a quiet show that felt like the spiritual equivalent of a warm tea in the dead of winter. Frankly, I kept on thinking of Zendaya’s Rue in Euphoria, and the character’s description of the few seconds when you are so high, you don’t think of anything; you are completely present, i.e. euphoria. Shutting down our thoughts to then absorb our life is the hardest thing to achieve because it feels counter-intuitive. Don’t you need your mind to absorb your life? This was the magical, existential question of Big Thief’s show. 

   Nearly every song, including new ones from their exceptional record, Two Hands, asked the latter question. How do I think better or not at all about how much I don’t have, how much I could not get, and what little it takes to lose it all? These themes were fascinating because it was a packed show of twenty and thirty somethings looking at Adrianne Lenker as if she was the vocal mecca for Millennials. All we had to do was bring her offerings in the form of ticket stubs, and she would sing to us for an hour about how we can feel more lost when we try to find ourselves. But then what….. DO I STOP LOOKING? 

Big Thief – Cattails (Official Audio)

The philosophical bent of this article/ their performance is evident; you can’t stop trying to get better while simultaneously not doing so. With this mind, Lenker’s voice felt filled with lightness and empathy; two things people really need. She is so precise and pristine in her delivery. Now while the band is quick with a quip, for the most part, it was a quiet, gentle show. Hence, my fascination, much like my Pinegrove review, on seeing a room full of people connect on the fact that, whether it be with love, life, or themselves, they feel disconnected. For More Information On Big Thief Click Here.