There’s something a little weird about a co-headlining show. No matter what the acts are, whichever plays first just doesn’t attract the same crowd. One act has to function as an opener, regardless of following or fanbase. The strangeness of this took shape on November 7th at the Bowery Ballroom, where Dylan LeBlanc played an hour-long set ahead of Night Moves, despite promotion for the show seeming to clearly indicate him as the headliner. And though LeBlanc, armed with only his Epiphone and no backing band, delivered a killer performance, it was a bummer to see a thinner crowd than anticipated there to support him. LeBlanc’s latest, Renegade, dropped earlier in 2019 and is full of sprawling rock and roll tales of suspense and intrigue. If you can catch him on tour with a full band, it is the best way to experience the mastery of the record. It finds him more confidently taking up space, using his distinct voice to spin rich and vivid narratives about characters both real and imagined, getting into trouble and plumbing the depths of solitude.
Still, he left it all on the stage at Bowery Ballroom last week, letting the full power of his vocals fill up every last corner of the venue. Stripped-down versions of songs like “Bang Bang Bang,” “Damned,” “Lone Rider,” and the album’s title track “Renegade” put the spotlight on LeBlanc’s songwriting, playing up the themes of steeliness and loneliness explored in both. That feeling is never more prominent than in Renegade’s standout beauty “Domino,” which is a stunning showcase for LeBlanc’s wild vocal range, which can fluidly pounce between a soft, throaty whisper and a tight, primal howl.
LeBlanc played a full, well-rounded set, covering ground from his excellent 2016 release Cautionary Tale, and even a new track “Unanswered Questions,” which debuted just a few days before the show. As the night went on, he relaxed more and more into himself, and the crowd helped with warm encouragement and love that seemed to feed LeBlanc exactly when he needed it. What could have felt like an intimate show, actually bloomed into something much bigger and more fully formed thanks to his ferocious guitar-playing and uninhibited singing. By the time he closed things out with Fleetwood Mac’s “Big Love,” it felt too soon to bid farewell.
