Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Live Shows: Molly Burch and Olden Yolk, Lilypad Inman, Cambridge, MA 10/14/18

It's very rare that two artists with two of my favorite albums of the year tour together, but when that happens I know I have to go out, even if it's a late night show on a work night. Obviously this is what happened when I saw that Molly Burch and Olden Yolk were playing together at the ultra-tiny Lilypad.

Olden Yolk played first as a duo. They invited the crowd to move forward and sit on the floor, creating an even more intimate experience. Olden Yolk are a quiet, mellow band, and are even more so as a duo, so luckily the crowd was impeccably attentive without any chatter. I forgot just how great their debut album from earlier this year was. "Gamblers On a Dime" and "Vital Sign" could not have sounded more perfect. Sometimes quieter indie rock/folk doesn't translate live, but for Olden Yolk it couldn't have been more of an ideal setting.

I saw Molly Burch back in 2017 opening for Sallie Ford. The past year has seen her grow as a performer. On her first headlining tour, she seemed much more comfortable and sure of herself. She was fighting a cold and popping cough drops in between songs, which could have been a disaster for a performer whose main focus is her voice. Luckily, she seemed barely affected while singing, and her voice sounded gorgeous with her indie folk meets 50's girl group songs. During "Nothing to Say" her voice may have faltered a tiny bit for a few notes, but she could have also been holding back a bit because of her cold. Or it could have been the slight sound issues that plagued the set randomly throughout the night. As the songs focused primarily on Burch's voice, the band played very restrained and laid back throughout the night. The main set closer, "Downhearted," was their first time to really branch out and turned the song into an indie rock epic as it built to a climax.

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