Electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso awed the crowd with their strong beats and infectious energy at Federal Hill’s The 8x10. The band played its first ever Baltimore show on Thursday, Oct. 23 along with notable opening act Flock of Dimes.
Sylvan Esso, a duo comprised of singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn, formed in 2013 to create its debut 2014 eponymous album. The band’s work has since reached No. 39 on the Billboard 200 rankings and led to a live performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last July.
Local artist Jenn Wasner opened for the band performing as her solo project Flock of Dimes. Wasner formed Flock of Dimes in 2011 as a more experimental pop side project to her main venture the popular Baltimore indie rock band Wye Oak. In both musical endeavors Wasner produces strong, soulful vocals and switches between playing guitar, keyboard and bass.
As Flock of Dimes, Wasner not only sings and strums, but also plays previously recorded electronic and vocal back up tracks behind her live sounds. For some songs Wasner creates loops using a foot pedal to reuse sounds in her performances.
Throughout her performance-- lit by simple patterns of red, blue and white gel lights — Wasner maintained a close, conversational relationship with the crowd. She introduced songs with descriptors such as “sad” or “mellow party vibes” and described playing songs she had never performed for an audience before as “exhilarating.”
Wasner’s candid, sincere words were perhaps in part attributed to the performance space. For those unfamiliar with the venue, The 8x10 is a small, intimate space where filming the performance through a smartphone is silently condemned. Its black cinder block walls are reminiscent of Washington, D.C.’s U Street Music Hall.
Wasner not only premiered new songs but also played single “Apparition,” which she described as an appropriate Halloween song serving as a part “ghost story” and part “love story.” She also performed her YouTube hit “This is Why (I Can’t Wear White).” Overall, Flock of Dimes’s show ranged from synthpop to electronic blues funk, and Wasner displayed her wide range of vocal, instrumental and electronic production talent.
Upon taking the stage after Flock of Dimes’s performance, Sylvan Esso was met with immense applause and a scream of “I love you, Amelia!” from one particularly enthusiastic (or inebriated) male guest. While part of the crowd’s joy was due to the band’s loyal fan base, some of the excitement was undoubtedly attrib- uted to a sense of relief as the doors had opened at 7 p.m., and the headliner did not come on until 10:15 p.m.
While the audience had maintained conversations with one another throughout Flock of Dimes’s set, the crowd became silent once Meath and Sanborn arrived. Meath excitedly announced that this was their first show in Baltimore and emphasized how thankful she and Sanborn were to be back in the U.S. after their European tour. They commented on how grateful they were that their American fans truly “got” their music.
The band opened with “Could I Be,” a song with a strong kick and snare beat — played by Sanborn on a MIDI controller — and Meath’s iconic folksy vocals. As she sang, Meath danced with sweeping, fully-body movements, arm motions and sensual hip swaying. Sanborn did his best to look equally as entranced while still commanding the MIDI con- troller. Unlike other male- female artist duos, Meath and Sanborn share a true balanced chemistry: one compliments the other rather than overshadowing the other.
The two met at a show where they both per- formed at a small venue after Meath had just finished writing and performing “Play it Right” with her indie folk rock band Mountain Man. Meath asked if Sanborn would make a remix of the song and the two quickly made a connection. Sylvan Esso was born soon thereafter.
Meath and Sanborn recorded the entirety of their self-titled debut album in Sanborn’s bedroom in Durham, N.C. This production technique only further exemplifies the chemistry and hospitality the two exude when onstage. Although Meath is the primary vocalist, Sanborn accompanies her with backup vocals on songs such as “Uncantena” and fan-favorite “Coffee.” The duo also accented “Uncantena” with synchronized hand motion dance moves.
Four large, horizontal standing light fixtures flooded the stage with speared white streams of light and turned Meath and Sanborn into artful silhouettes during the show. The band also utilized overhead gel lights but never directly illuminated their faces creating a dark coffee house atmosphere.
The audience — a mixture of classic Baltimore grunge and typical Federal Hill bros — remained enthusiastic throughout the performance, often singing and dancing along with Meath.
When performing live, Sylvan Esso’s songs — particularly “Hey Mami” and “Dreamy Blues” — have much more of a club vibe with heightened baselines and Meath’s ecstatic dancing. The duo played their entire album, leaving favorite hit “Hey Mami” for the latter half of their performance. They closed with “Play it Right” and returned to the stage for an en- core with “Could I Be,” a slower, soothing ballad emphasizing Meath’s folk roots.
Overall, Sylvan Esso created an intimate experience through conversational anecdotes and resonant, unwavering vocals that truly captivated an audience of long-time fans and newcomers alike. Sylvan Esso asserts itself as a dynamic duo that will not be disap- pearing from public view any time soon.
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