Since we started covering Lucy Dacus with Historian way back in 2018, she's come a huge way. That year she headlined The Sinclair, which holds a little over five hundred people. Earlier this week she headlined MGM Music Hall at Fenway for two nights in front of a total of ten thousand people. Normally I recoil at larger concerts, but there are always exceptions, so I headed out to see Dacus for my third time!
First of all, there was a huge difference in the production from seven years ago. At The Sinclair, it was just Dacus and her band. For her current tour, there's a huge backdrop with LED screens projecting works of art to match the artwork for her just released album Forever is a Feeling. (Before the music started, the screens were blank which gave the Boston crowd flashbacks of the Gardner Museum Heist, especially since we were about a twenty minute walk from that location.) At one point, the stage crew brought out a couch for a more intimate and acoustic portion of the set which included an excellent version of "I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore" and a bearded Katie Gavin taking Hozier's part of the duet "Bullseye."
Of course, a huge stage set up only works if the music is great, and Lucy Dacus has amassed an amazing set of songs. Playing almost all of Forever is a Feeling, Dacus occasionally dipped back into her back catalog, including the set opening "Hot & Heavy," "Fool's Gold," and boygenius' "True Blue." Once an artist gets to the five thousand person venue level, they typically have to stick to the tried and true hits and rarely focus so heavily on the new album. But Dacus isn't your typical artist, and she does not have the typical fans. Each new song was greeted just as heartily as the classics, some even more so. She still closed with the always excellent "Night Shift," which caused my entire body to flood with goosebumps despite the high temperatures in the venue that night.
When I saw Lucy Dacus at The Sinclair in 2018, I commented that there was hardly any cell phone usage, with pictures being kept to a bare minimum. A larger venue will always lead to more phone usage, but Dacus' audience is still one of the most respectful and passionate ones out there today. I think there might have been only two people talking too loudly during one song, and how often can you say that about a concert of this size? It was so quiet at times that I could hear a trash bag being changed at the bar. A highlight was during sing-a-longs from the crowd. It was actual singing like a choir instead of screaming out the lyrics as loudly as possible. At least as far as Lucy Dacus fans go, the kids are allright.
Katie Gavin (photo by Ken Sears)
Opening the show was Katie Gavin of MUNA supporting her debut solo album What a Relief. She might be the perfect opener for Lucy Dacus, as she is similar but with a very different sound. Her songs ranged from almost pure pop to a more folk/rock sound, and she had her own rabid fans in the audience. She played a fantastic set that opened with "Casual Drug Use" and included "Keep Walking" as a highlight. Unfortunately, her set felt abbreviated due to audience members fainting and her having to stop while help arrived. This happened twice during "Inconsolable," and the song was never finished. From what we all saw, we need some more Katie Gavin in our lives, and all five thousand people should show up next time she's in town.
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