Bartees Strange Was So Good Live That I Threw Up
Graphic by Cate Banks
By Sarah Fournell
Not clickbait.
Bartees Motherf*cking Strange, as he declared himself, had such an overwhelming magnetism that I had no choice but to neglect my stomach issues and dance along to the beats that he created. The second his electrifying set at the Sinclair ended, I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Sure, it was probably due to the massive burrito I ate right before the show, but I’d like to think his music had a certain power over me.
The burgeoning “future DC legends” (as Strange referred to them) Spring Silver set the tone for the night with their opening set. Gracing the stage in matching Metallica tees, they launched straight into their act, and immediately blew the audience away with their intensity. Over the uproarious applause as a response to their first song, K Nkanza, the mastermind behind the music, thanked the audience with a “Thank you, we are Metallica.” While the touring group, which consists of leader K Nkanza (she/they), drummer Jian Sorano, guitarist Alex Menick, and bassist Reid Williams, looked fresh faced and juvenile, their performance was anything but. The pauses between songs heralded an air of naivete, and felt like an inside look at a garage band practice, with their audience banter short, sweet, and slightly sputtering. However, their performance itself was akin to a well-experienced rock group. Each movement, intonation, and drum beat felt practiced to perfection.
The crowd was stupefied by Spring Silver’s excellence, their performance garnered comments from a stunned old man such as “Can you believe these kids are playing like this?” and “they’re insane!” However, the greater audience, which largely consisted of middle aged NPR types, weren’t physically moved by the set. Despite Nkanza’s urging to “Go wild. Respectfully…go wild,” the crowd’s movements failed to mirror the ferocity of the music.
The audience warmed up slightly once the four piece crew, Pom Pom Squad took the stage. Despite their recent bout of misfortune, in which they had all of their gear stolen from their van, they put on a spectacular show. Pom Pom Squad is the solo project of frontwoman Mia Berrin, with band members Shelby Keller on drums and Alex Mercuri on guitar. In their essence, Pom Pom Squad is teen angst but make it adorable. Berrin sported a corset and a gauche poofy skirt with clunky knee high combat boots, a look reflective of the group’s sound: innocent and charming with hard-hitting venomous lyrics.
They performed the majority of their most recent album, Death of A Cheerleader. Opening with the angry and distorted “Lux,” they established the raw, electric sound they maintained for the rest of the set. Each song they performed was candy-coated in dynamism, with yearning and teen spirit permeating through the setlist. They performed a tasteful blend of sickly-sweet love ballads and spunky rock bangers with a youthful effervescence. When Barrin wasn’t wielding a cherry red guitar, she wove in and out of the equipment, even taking a moment to get on top of the drumset.
Bartees Strange enraptured the audience from the second he stepped onto the stage in his oversized poncho and neon track pants. Strange and his band dove straight into the set with an indescribably exuberant jam sesh intro. They further acquainted themselves with the audience with a vibrant rendition of “Escape this Circus” from his most recent album, Farm to Table. The poncho only lasted for a few songs, and when Strange ripped it off after an energetic performance of “Mustang” and “Mulholland Dr.,” his band laughed. Strange explained to the audience they had an ongoing bet to see how long he would last with it on. With the way he guided the crowd to jump and dance, it was impressive that he could sweat out the first four tracks.
Strange’s discography is genre-bending, from rap and R&B to rock, but he described his style as “non-profit rock ‘n roll,” since before he made it big as a musician, he spent most of his time behind a desk at different non-profits. His setlist mirrored the brilliant chaos of his style, as he carefully bounced between jump-up-and-down bangers like “Wretched” and “Cosigns,” and peaceful, introspective ballads like “Black Gold” and “Hold the Line.” Strange possesses a certain mastery over his music, even at times being self-referential, with traces of the beat “Wretched” interlaced throughout “Flagey God.” The magic of his musicianship shone best in his retelling of the work of others. Strange performed his electro-rock spin on the National’s “Lemonworld” with such a fervor and sense of intimacy that it felt like the band members were performing for the sake of each other’s excitement. The lines “Losing my breath/Doo Doo/Doo Doo/Doo doo” were sung through gleaming teeth, as if each sound slipped out of their smiles to each other.
As the night went on, Strange became more intimate and conversational with the crowd, taking the time to explain the meaning behind his songs. His musings on “Heavy Heart” reflected the feelings of having a hard time expressing happiness and pride when the world around you is suffering. With a heart-breaking speech about being forced to grow up too fast, Strange dedicated “Hold the Line” to George Floyd’s daughter, Gianna. Strange’s deep sadness and yearning sung over a wailing slide guitar brought the room to a silent standstill; one could practically hear the echoes of the protest that followed the tragedy ringing through the venue.
The evening came to a close with what Strange referred to as his “thesis” for making music, “Hennessey.” It was then followed by a prolonged encore, a rendition of the National’s “Today” and Strange’s “Kelly Rowland,” songs that are sonically like night and day. However, there was no whiplash, as Strange’s versatility as an artist was well received with flailing, swaying arms. His entire performance was shrouded with a heavy sense of gratitude, he often used the pauses between songs to express how thankful he was to be on stage.