Adrianne Lenker at White Eagle Hall (November 9, 2021)
Adrianne Lenker performed at White Eagle Hall on Tuesday, November 10th in support of her latest records, the intensely personal (if soft spoken) songs and instrumentals. The venue felt like an appropriate place to see her live. While not a religious institution per se, White Eagle Hall’s two glass skylights, commemorating Chopin and opera singer Marcella Sembrich, makes it feel like a house of worship, if one honoring a musical legacy and not a biblical one. The mood was equally reverential throughout, both in the pious quiet while she performed (and even tuned!), and the crowd’s adherence to the request that everyone wear a mask (flyers with this request, attributed to Lenker herself, were posted around the venue). I had not seen the level of quiet immersion, a crowd hanging off every lyric and shared insight, since seeing Gillian Welch perform a few years ago.
Lenker's set was frontloaded with tracks off her most recent album, songs, vignettes of interpersonal loss, and clear-eyed heartbreak, including “zombie girl,” “half return,” and “two reverse.” The latter half featured songs from both her solo back catalog (“Indiana” and “symbol”) and versions of her band, Big Thief's, songs (“UFOF” “Cattails” and the unreleased “Promise is a Pendulum”) which closed the show. Lenker asked the audience to sing along, and in the most moving moments, they, through masks, filled in call and response parts and harmonized with her, surprisingly in key.
Between “Indiana” and the newer “zombie girl”, Lenker spoke of the span of time between writing each, moving to Brooklyn when she was 21, struggling to make it as a performer locally and scrimping to buy and item of gear and then a van which Big Thief used to tour ceaselessly for the last 7 years or so. Her talents as a storyteller were showcased both in these moments, a preview of what her solo tours in the future might become (in the vein of Springsteen’s storied performances), and of course, in the songs themselves. While much has been written about her songwriting and storytelling prowess, what Lenker doesn’t receive nearly enough credit for is her guitar playing abilities, fingerpicking melody, and lead parts while simultaneously singing.
It was unclear who was more thankful, Lenker performing these songs to a rapt audience for the first time, or the attendees, some in tears (myself included after she performed "dragon eyes") who yelled out "thank you" and "we love you" between songs. As much as last night's show inspired awe, it also inspired gratitude from everyone in attendance. Her music is like a brillo pad for the soul, stripping you of the emotional rust and patina built over the past year and a half, and I left the show feeling lighter, relieved of a heaviness I did not know I was carrying, and yet feeling made more whole as a result.
