@ Concert Review

Design by Sophie Parrish

By Hanlon Lowther

I arrived at The Lilypad in Inman Square at 7:30, just after doors, on November 8th, with a couple of friends to find, to our surprise, the venue already lively and filled with people. Thankfully, my roommate had quickly purchased a couple of tickets when the performance was first announced and graciously brought me along, as it was quickly sold out. We walked into the small standing-room venue as the first opener was performing, a talented cellist, guitarist, and singer-songwriter who later accompanied @ as their cellist. Around the room, I recognised several friends in the crowd whom I had previously met through a mutual love of the Boston music scene. 

When the second act soon started, I delightfully found myself sitting at the very front of the standing room venue for one of the best and most surprising openers I’ve ever seen, Noah Britton. Sporting a sparkling purple robe with a golden cape and a British Judge’s wig, he appeared to have walked straight out of a Spirit Halloween. In a performance both hilarious and devastating, he started out singing an acapella song; just tapping his foot and snapping. 

Britton is both a Boston-based comedian and a singer-songwriter who charmed the audience with first-person fiction songs, on-stage banter, and deeply personal reflections on growing older and the struggles of youth. In his short set, he performed a song addressing the current political administration, detailing the life of an immigrant delivery driver. Then, later at the request of his friends, he performed a song about the tragic death of his father. Britton is also a psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

@ is a Baltimore-based indie rock band, formed in 2020, comprised of multi-instrumentalists and vocalists, Victoria Rose and Stone Filipczak. Recording their debut album almost entirely remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair eventually rereleased their debut album through Carpark Records and are currently signed to 4AD Records. @’s discography includes a full-length 2023 album and a 2024 EP titled: Are You There God? It’s Me @. Now on tour, supporting their upcoming album, their show consisted almost entirely of unreleased songs. Eventually, they played two songs from their 2023 album, Mind Palace Music: “Major Blue Empty” and “Cut From Toxic Cloth”. At the beginning of “Major Blue Empty”, Victoria appeared to say someone’s name into the mic accidentally and burst out laughing with their cellist. Gracefully restarting the song, Stone began singing first, as if to give her another second to recover from her laughing fit. 

Although @ may be a two-person band, combined, they have a wide range of instrumental talents. Victoria played the clarinet on several songs, alternating between singing and playing the guitar. She then later shocked the audience with her very convincing mouth trumpet noises. Both Victoria and Stone played the acoustic guitar throughout the set, with Stone delivering an exciting plugged-in acoustic guitar solo with a distortion pedal towards the very end of their performance.

@’s music centres around beautiful yet complex vocal melodies and the harmonies between the two friends. Accompanied by a cellist, Victoria and Stone sing not only with the support of an acoustic guitar, but also with the third voice of the lower cello harmony. Victoria’s poignant lyrics often focus on themes of human connection, her voice both powerful and precise. Glancing around the room throughout the performance, I witnessed friends and strangers on the brink of tears several times in both @ and Britton’s sets.  It’s hard to recall a more intimate and moving show that I have attended in a long while.

For only having released music over the last couple of years, @ has had a huge impact on those who have resonated with their music. Even playing such a small venue, as a newer band, they brought such a warm and inviting energy to the room, creating a very engaging and focused audience. While I have not been able to find any information online regarding when their newest album will be released, after attending their performance at The Lilypad, it will easily be one of my most anticipated records in the next year.