Concert Review: Saint Etienne Teach Good Humor At Bowery Ballroom
Saint Etienne celebrated twenty years of Good Humor. TWENTY YEARS, PEOPLE! I always like seeing artists celebrate their classic albums because they are so transformed from when it originally debuted. Life happens in between records, and teaches how to re-love what you love. In some ways, Saint Etienne’s Bowery Ballroom show was, exactly, that: a fresh hug to their legendary sounds.
With 60’s images splashing behind them, Saint Etienne made the audience feel like we were on a hot air balloon ride with Andy Warhol. Their music floats through the ambiance as if air can make a person sail through an atmosphere like water. It was the equivalent of “groove” and “chill,” and had an effect on the crowd that I rarely see. No one had their phones out.
There I was, about to Instagram, when I saw I was the only phone lit. There was not even a “no tech” policy. People had, simply, decided that their eyes and memory were enough to capture the moment. It was a fascinating “cause and effect” situation. Good Humor, along with many of Saint Etienne’s hits, is imaginative and relaxing. Rhythmically, Saint Etienne massage your brain with colorful oils that paint vivid “kingdoms of cool” in your mind. From “Woodcabin” to “Hug My Soul,” they went through several tracks, beyond the celebrated album, to make you feel like you were a fun, flirty flower child. Hence, it makes sense that, barely, was there a cellphone in the air. Back in that day, people only had landlines, and the hope that if something was important enough then you will remember it. Well, people were going to remember this night.
What is so great about Saint Etienne’s show is that it feels thematic. With a green, feathered bow swooshing around her shoulders, Sarah Cracknell was giving us Twiggy glory. Her voice felt silken and cushioned between arrangements that elevated you to higher ground. Still, there was another, more important factor to their show’s success: relief. They all appeared so happy and settled into their sound, their fans, and the truth that it is more significant to say you have made rather than you have “made it.” Perhaps, it is a lesson artists/ people learn through time, but there is no such thing as “making it.” Happiness is not a destination, but a state of being you learn to carry no matter where you are placed in life. Twenty years of Good Humor has taught Saint Etienne this rule of joviality, and it radiated from the stage. For More Information On Saint Etienne Click Here.
