Some artists can make a room feel larger than it is. World Cafe Live’s Lounge is a 200-capacity venue that overlooks the water right near Drexel University in Philadelphia. The dim lighting and red curtain give the small venue a theatrical feel but last night (April 3), the room truly came to life as Haley Blais brought her Wisecrack tour to the city and put on a performance that will echo throughout the venue for a long time. Along with a stellar opening set from Charlie Huston, Blais and company made their presence something to remember as they ran through her recently released Wisecrack LP with a demanding stage presence.
No introduction was needed as Charlie Huston walked on stage and grabbed the room’s attention with one strum of her guitar. She stands by herself with nothing but a guitar, a looping drum machine, and a microphone. With no problem at all, the crowded Philly venue fell to a hush as stunning falsettos hit the microphone. “A lot of these are unreleased” announces Huston before launching into a beautiful set filled with cloud-like guitar tones and a vocal performance that cut through to the other end of the bar despite its gentle tones. For an act with minimal equipment behind them, Huston easily filled the room with the presence of a giant and the tones of their unique take on pop music. Her minimal approach succeeds in making Charlie Huston a name no one in the room will forget. Considering a lot of the songs performed on this night are unreleased, the brightness of Huston’s future is blinding. This is not an artist you want to be late on.
Haley Blais was able to make World Cafe Live feel like a theater. Her ability to translate her studio sessions into a live setting is a testament to her songwriting ability but more than that, she is a natural performer. Blais’ level of confidence on stage was unmatched and her band filled the room with her folksy soul. On a record, Blais’s songwriting takes over as her poetic trains of thought lead down paths of vulnerability but when these songs are performed live, the nuance of the musicianship emerges. The nuanced explosiveness of “The Cabin” is emphasized and the intimacy of “Baby Teeth” is even warmer and more welcoming, Blais’s ability to bring a room of strangers together is something to behold. The band stormed through their set with a rawness that brought her words to life, her unique brand of soulful indie rock with the storytelling of folk all melts together and changes the atmosphere of the room.
The next stop on the tour is April 5 in Brooklyn before Blais heads up Canada for a string of dates before wrapping up the tour in Chicago on April 12. You can get tickets for the remainder of the tour here: https://www.haleyblaismusic.com/tour
