The Middle East Club in Cambridge is a Mecca of music almost every night of the week, and sometimes twice a night in the same space. On March 24th, Jenny Owen Youngs performed in the upstairs room at 6:30pm and the show was over before 8:30pm to make room for another show that night. However, the show didn’t feel rushed.
Aunt Martha, a 4-piece “band of men” as they call themselves, opened the show on Saturday afternoon. They performed at SXSW earlier this month, playing a show for the Boston to Austin showcase. Now that they’re back, they’re playing for friends, family, and new fans alike.
Their relaxed look of t-shirts and jeans lets their music take command on stage instead. Their folk rock sound sometimes leans with a country twang, but they have songs that cover a range from solemn driving songs to bouncing upbeat songs that had the crowd’s heads bopping. Even the bassist was bopping along, too. A song they played that I could see reaching great popularity, called “Bloodshot,” mixes their country and folk rock sound really nicely.
Jenny Owen Youngs set up her own stag for her 7:30pm set time, and the crowd cheered when she finally slung her guitar over her shoulder. She went right into her music, leading off with “My Apartment,” a song from her new album An Unwavering Band of Light. More songs followed that, as she wittily pointed out, saying, “We’re gonna play more songs for you. All in a row. Like you’ve never seen before.”
Her new album is a great display of a variety of songs, from the roller coaster of “Sleep Machine,” which features horns, to “Pirates,” a fun upbeat song about pirate love. She played these songs, as well as old favorites from her earlier releases.
Youngs seemed to be hiding behind her outgrown fringe while rocking out on stage, but her zombies t-shirt reminded everyone of who she really is. Elliot Jacobson and Mike Tuccillo joined Youngs on stage, playing drums and bass respectively. Everyone’s instrumentalism was strong and filled the small upstairs space completely.
It’s always hard for artists to think of something to say between songs on stage, so Youngs went with complimenting the audience. “You guys are great. Really good looking. That’s coming from me so it’s worth something now.” She didn’t need to win our affections that night, because she was called out for an encore, performing one more new song, “Born to Lose.”
I’ve seen Youngs perform three times by now but this was the first time as the headliner. There’s a little more pressure in that position, but she responds to it well. If she responded any other way, she wouldn’t be Jenny Owen Youngs.
Check out Aunt Marta at http://www.auntmarthaband.com.
And Jenny Owen Youngs at http://www.jennyowenyoungs.com.
By: Deanna Archetto