Review and Photos: David Yousling
It was a packed house at The Chapel Tuesday night. Presented by Pandora, the Stubhub NextStage Concert Series was free(!) and Sharon Van Etten fans showed up. A line nearly the length of the block was queued well after doors and inside overheard conversations revolved around Sharon Van Etten. This being the third show for Van Etten in a month, the fan intensity was at an all time high.
Mixing it up, Van Etten announced as she took stage that she had striped down all her songs for the set and that the crowd had better be ready to “get mellow”. Sharing the stage with Van Etten was fellow multi-instrumentalists Heather Woods Broderick and brother Peter Broderick. Van Etten went on to say that this would be the first time for the group to perform the newly worked set in front of such a large crowd.
The set opened with the song “Afraid of Nothing” from Van Etten’s recently released album Are We There Yet and thoroughly enchanted the audience with the new version. Van Etten and company then proceeded to effortlessly wax Van Etten’s signature melodic poetry. Inspiring many fans to sing along, each owning the song as much as the performer. Though seemingly simple and easy going Van Etten’s music masks a songwriter tuned to writing songs describing the comings and goings of love in straightforward ways.
Winding the set down with classics like “Consolation Prize” and “Tornado from freshman album Because I was in love. Beautiful and magical were common descriptions for the evening and despite the ever present side convos in the back, the crowd was thoroughly charmed from beginning to end.
From “Tornado“:
I’m a tornado. You are the dust,
You’re all around and you’re inside.
What is your favorite Sharon Van Etten verse or song?
Gallery: Sharon van Etten at the Chapel