Brilliant. Chvrches lead vocalist Lauren Mayberry decided to share her first solo album by touring it BEFORE releasing it. It’s such a brave endeavor- we all know her band’s work, but anyone who bought a ticket to this was taking a risk that this project would be worth their time and money. I decided it was worth my time because the curiosity was killing me.
I was pretty excited about seeing ggwendolyn open for Lauren Mayberry- there’s been a good buzz about her live show. Well, it turns out that she got injured on the road and had to leave the tour! So we ended up with Alaska Reid, a dear friend of Lauren Mayberry’s who flew to SF on only a few hours’ notice to fill the void. Her voice is lovely, and her guitar playing somehow really is the perfect balance of Joni Mitchell and J Mascis, just as her bio says. Technically, this was a very good set. However, ahead of her set the PA was blasting all of Beyonce’s most triumphant works, and then we were kind of abruptly forced to take it down a notch. Reid, probably because of the frenzy of the day combined with the crowd being a bit, well, unfocused on her set, it just didn’t seem to work. I’d love to see Reid again under better conditions because she’s clearly got talent.
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The intention of this tour is for folks to hear these songs for the first time in the live setting. So I went into Mayberry’s set with very little knowledge about what I’m in for. I’ve spent a LOT of time over-analyzing “Are You Awake?” I’ve looked at enough setlists to know the names of the songs, and she’s covering “Like A Prayer” and another song by a local artist. Since “Are You Awake?” is a piano ballad that could just as easily fit on a Depeche Mode album or a Lady Gaga album, it really wasn’t exactly a clue into what we were in for.
It turns out that what we were in for was a dramatic exploration into the mind of, well, an extremely talented and eclectic musician who seemed ecstatic to let her whims fly. After the opening number, “Bird,” which really did feel like it could have appeared on a Chvrches record, we got to experience one of the best performances I’ve ever seen Mayberry do.
That’s really the biggest difference of the night- it didn’t feel like we were watching a band, although her three-piece backing band is insanely tight for a group that’s only been playing live for less than a month. The focus was 100% Mayberry, and Mayberry was being, well, 100% Mayberry. She still brought the dark and the political of Chvrches, if not being even more overtly political in content. But she also brought a sense of fun that is missing from her band. Mayberry joked and laughed with the crowd. There were songs that were simply pure disco rave-ups. She brought attitude to the set. She danced- there were times were every move was defined and purposeful, not just her signature twirl (which we got PLENTY of).
And so many of the new songs are so good! “Change Shapes” was a classic disco song that seemed to be about a relationship where you aren’t allowed to be yourself. “Shame” is a classic New Wave song that kept you on your toes in a way that I can’t describe sufficiently- you’ve just got to wait until the record comes out. Set closer “Sorry, Etc” could’ve been a Downward Spiral-era Nine Inch Nails Song.
As for the covers, “Like A Prayer” was pretty straightforward. It’s arguably Madonna’s best piece of songwriting (Like A Prayer is Madonna’s best album. FIGHT ME!), and it was a treat to have a song that elicited an audience singalong. Mayberry owned the song. It wasn’t a dramatic rearrangement, but it sat nicely in the set, and she was so giddy doing it that it was hard not to feel her energy. I did secretly hope that the band would all don choir robes when Lauren belted out “Let The Choir Sing!”
The more surprising cover was Hole’s “Miss World.” This version was dramatically different, with the “crunch” of the original removed, and it was more of a plaintive folk song. Mayberry didn’t make any attempt at trying to sound like Courtney Love, which is good, because I can’t think of two more dissimilar voices. I will admit that I was waiting for her to attempt a guttural scream, but that wasn’t going to happen. I will also note that she made a super nerdy justification for claiming Courtney Love as an SF act when she’s generally associated with either Seattle or LA. But Mayberry knows her shit and knows that Love was born in SF and probably even knows that Courtney was the singer for Faith No More for a blink.
I have no idea when this album is coming out, but I’m excited about it. I’m excited to see and hear more of Mayberry as a solo act. This is looking to be an exciting and very interesting second career for someone who already has reached rock star status one time over.
