Words and Photos by Katherine Cardinale
Julien Baker recently played three sold out nights at Webster Hall, plus an additional special night at Brooklyn Steel, as part of her highly anticipated Fall 2024 tour. These nights featured rotating setlists and both new and old songs, as well as a full band and new arrangements to fit the upbeat rock sound that Julien has been heading towards since her last solo LP, Little Oblivions. Julien had fellow indie artist Katie Malco open for her on all of these dates and featured an additional opener unique to each night. Singer-songwriter Laura Stevenson was the second opener for the October 7th date.
Katie Malco opened the night with a mix of songs mostly off her 2020 album Failures and new tunes that are scheduled to be released soon. Katie has been praised by critically acclaimed outlets such as NPR, Brooklyn Vegan, and BBC Radio 1. She released her latest single, “Babette,” ahead of her opening slot with Julien Baker. The song features additional vocals from fellow indie artist SOAK. Katie’s ability to combine playing her captivating music with dry humor between the songs made her set unique and unforgettable. She also brought out fellow opener Laura Stevenson during her set, and they performed their single “Fatal Attraction” together. Shortly after, Laura Stevenson, a New York native herself, took the stage. Laura has served as an inspiration to both Katie and Julien, and her set on October 7th was both cathartic and engaging.
Julien’s band walked out right on time and began playing the instrumental intro “Over” off Julien’s sophomore album, Turn Out The Lights. This song provided a perfect, seamless transition into “Appointments,” which is one of Julien’s most popular songs to date. I have been going to Julien’s shows since fall 2021, and this most recent set was one of the best ones I’ve seen thus far. Julien is an incredible musician and she has amazing chemistry with her band members, many of whom have been touring alongside her for years.
Each night of the tour features a slightly different setlist, but a number of songs, including “Sprained Ankle,” “Hardline,” and “Everybody Does,” proved to be fan favorites of the evening. Some of my favorite songs by Julien include “Relative Fiction” and “Tokyo,” and I was lucky enough to be able to hear both at this show. Between songs Julien interacted with the crowd and talked about how happy she is to be playing with a full band, which is a dramatic shift from her early career shows when she would play full sets completely by herself. Seeing Julien’s growth over the past four years has been a heartwarming and optimistic experience for me, and being able to witness her release and perform her art in real time has been an honor. I also appreciated her decision to bring Katie Malco with her on this tour, as Katie is an extremely talented musician and the two are longtime friends.
Loudspeaker Collective 