It was a Friday night, and the group that started as a pretty jazzy, kind of poppy thing at New England Conservatory stood on The Sinclair stage as giants.
Everything was bigger. The sound, the status, the number of members, and even the drum kit. Yet Lake Street Dive, on May 4, the day they released their latest album, still stood before just 525 people.
Rather than playing a bigger venue (they sold out the 3,500-person Wang Theatre a couple years back and are playing bigger places than The Sinclair across their current tour), Rachael Price and Co. welcomed Free Yourself Up in the same space they presented Bad Self Portraits four years ago.
Of course, that 2014 show at the then-young Sinclair was sold out, too. Since then, there have been talk show appearances, festivals, and everything in between. But Lake Street Dive have always had a soft spot for where they began, so smaller club shows, even with their current status, are never a surprise. For those who can score tickets, like those who made it to the 2015 Memory Lane tour stops at the tiny but charming Club Passim and Lizard Lounge, it’s an amazing way of a big-name band giving its biggest fans a more intimate show. For everyone who falls victim to the immediate sellouts, it’s devastating.
With tickets not available on the secondary market (you could only get in with the ID of the ticket’s purchaser), the only people in attendance were those who marked their calendars and hoped for the best. In fact, it’s hard to imagine many in attendance could identify with opener Mikaela Davis when she remarked during her impressive set that the coming hours would mark her first time seeing the band perform.
Shortly after 9 p.m., Lake Street Dive took the stage. Armed with an album of new material and a new addition to the band (Akie Bermiss on keys and vocals; he began touring with the band last year before seemingly transitioning to full-time member), the band jumped into the set with Free Yourself Up opener “Baby, Don’t Leave Me Alone With My Thoughts.” As was the case with many of the offerings from the hours-old record, the audience was prepared for a full singalong.
Throughout the night, the band weaved in and out of material from 2010’s self-titled album (kind of, but not really their first album), Bad Self Portraits, and 2016’s Side Pony. The setlist provided a reminder that Lake Street Dive’s percieved staples are ever-evolving; “Seventeen” and “Stop Your Crying” were given a night off after years of shows, while the Mike Calabrese-written “I Don’t Care About You” remained with as much energy behind it as ever.
It was also a reminder of that path from pretty jazzy and poppy to R&B to finally just being universally described as a multigenre band. They’ve done too much to just be one thing, but it’s hard to imagine any fans of part of the band’s 14-year run dropping out at any of the strides the group has taken.
For a show that ended with the band’s famous rendition of “I Want You Back,” it was another cover that provided one of the show’s highlights. Introduced by Price as one of her favorite singers, Bermiss performed his take on Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One,” giving the Mutt Lange classic more of a Donny Hathaway “Jealous Guy” feel.
In a lot of ways, Lake Street Dive are in uncharted territory. In addition to adding Bermiss, the band has now embraced co-writing more than on any of their previous albums. Only two songs dating back to the 2010 self-titled album have writing credits for multiple band members (three if you count the reprise of Mike “McDuck” Olson’s “Don’t Make Me Hold Your Hand”); Free Yourself Up is mostly co-writes, with members sharing writing credits on six of the album’s 10 tracks.
Among those is another song that stole the show Friday, the Bridget Kearney and Price-penned ballad “I Can Change”. It’s a song for hope given the current political climate, but the title was fitting for the night on multiple levels. Time and again, Lake Street Dive have shown they can continue to change without losing anything in the process. Nearly a decade-and-a-half into their run, that’s an impressive feat.
Featured photo by DJ Bean; follow him on Twitter @DJ_Bean.