Saturday, Oct. 10 saw the arrival of the immensely popular alternative rock artist beabadoobee accompanied by Wisp, a major figure in the modern shoegaze scene, to Merriweather Post Pavilion. Located about a third of the way between Baltimore and D.C., the October date would be Maryland’s turn to house beabadoobee on her tour following the release of her fourth and grungiest studio album, Pylon.
Because of the Pavillion’s extensive lawn area in addition to reserved seating options, a general admission skylounge, and barrier-access frontstage pit, lawn tickets were able to remain affordable while still providing premium options for fans willing to spend more money.
Promptly at 8 p.m., Wisp emerged to widespread applause and the gentle hum of her characteristic dreamy, distorted guitar. Wisp opened her setlist by playing "Enough for you," a fitting showcase of the specific type of nu-metal infused shoegaze that she is best known for making. With drudging drumlines, sludgy, distorted guitar riffs and her gentle vocals sitting on top of it all, "Enough for you" and the songs that followed were compellingly ethereal, especially for fans of Wisp’s overdriven sound. However, her comfort in her sonic identity doesn’t always act in her favor, often leaving songs feeling underdeveloped or unremarkable, especially when coupled with the run-of-the-mill writing that populates her songs.
Following a brief intermission, the stage lights came back up on a stage newly populated by a giant electrical transmission tower and grassy terrain reminiscent of the Midwestern lowlands as beabadoobee emerged behind her band.
The performance kicked off with a series of upbeat and iconic lead guitar parts in "Sun Has Set," "10:36" and "Apple Cider." The energy was so invigorating that even audience members in reserved seating areas couldn’t help but get up and continue dancing long past the drop of "10:36."
From there, the band continued to electrify the crowd before temporarily taking a break and allowing beabadoobee to bring out her acoustic for a solo performance of "Coffee," an intimate fan-favorite and her first major hit.
After commenting on the difficulties of tour and the joy of performing, beabadoobee unveiled her unreleased song, "The Road." With a distinctly Americana-inspired instrumentation and simple yet moving verses about traveling away from home, "The Road" is a pleasant Wilco-esque single distinct from Pylon’s grittier feel.
The energy continued to pick up as the concert eventually came to a climax with the epic, expansive atmosphere of "In Motion" as beabadoobee repeatedly cried her plea of “gotta get away from here.”
Throughout the show, there were persistent remarks from nearby audience members that “hope she plays 'Beaches,'” a small child even joining in on the calls. Never one to leave fans disappointed, beabadoobee started her last song with its instantly recognizable four chords to the crowd’s absolute elation. After a thrilling guitar solo and a heartfelt crowd-led chorus, beabadoobee thanked the audience and left the stage with the sound of "There She Goes" by the La’s marking the end of a brilliant journey.
It was on this journey that beabadoobee, her band and the crew transformed the stage from just a series of props to equally part of the performance as the music. From light-up electrical wires to sparking transformers, the stage seemed to come alive in new and creative ways. In fact, beabadoobee centered her interactions with the “decorations” in riveting ways, singing "Powerlines" while standing atop the pylon and delivering the first verse of "Satellite" into the ringing payphone stage left.
One might believe that such minute on-stage details would be indistinguishable to audiences in the distant lawn, but fortunately for the masses, the live video of the band displayed on large screens hanging from the pavilion’s roof was treated as its own world of artistic expression rather than an afterthought. The stream routinely took the liberty of applying psychedelic effects during slow breakdowns or rapidly switching camera views at the climax of a song, making for a visual treat in and of itself.
It is all too easy to think of the concert as a solved event: you get on stage, play music, maybe say the name of the city you’re in, and then quietly leave. We in the audience have also grown complacent, coming to expect nothing more — maybe a couple pyrotechnics if we’re really lucky.
But beabadoobee and the crew at Merriweather Post Pavilion consistently showed that that was not the case. The music can be great, but the visuals can have just as much love and passion poured into their production as anything else. Just know that as beabadoobee is getting bigger and playing increasingly populated venues, she and her creative team are not taking her relevance for granted.
