OLIVIA KAPLAN

As a one person act, it can be tough to captivate an audience for an entire set; Olivia Kaplan did not struggle with this. From the moment she got on stage, the room felt a little different; people got quiet and seemed rather attentive though still relaxed. Kaplan later pointed out that Billie Marten’s crowds throughout the tour have been such a delight, for they just stand, watching and listening to the performers, staying continually engaged in what is happening on stage. Starting off her set with her song “Spill,” the room stood silent. Throughout her set, Kaplan made jokes, played popular songs as well as new releases such as “Wrong” and “American Air.” During one of her songs, an audience member sneezed, and without much hesitation she said “bless you,” which gave the audience a light chuckle. Like previous shows I’ve seen at 7th Street Entry, the technical elements were kept to a minimum; the lights remained blue and pink for the entirety of Kaplan’s set, and the sound was very natural in the sense that it was just a woman and her guitar.

BILLIE MARTEN

Prior to the show, I spent part of my day listening to both Olivia Kaplan and Billie Marten. Only then did I realize the fairly large discography between the two of them combined. Even so, Marten stuck to playing songs mostly from her newest release with others sprinkled in. Her presence on stage felt very natural and her voice sounded so wonderful. Similar to the technical setup for Kaplan’s solo set, the lights for Marten were now just pink. With the focus being mostly on the performers, this seemed reasonable and even preferred from me. The audio mixing remained tasteful and warm. Billie Marten started her set with “This Is How We Move,” one of the more popular tracks featured on her newest album, “Drop Cherries.” Between songs, she makes jokes and asks questions that keep the audience engaged. Oftentimes these talking bits were just about what the next song was about, but sometimes it would be about other topics, like the show happening next door in First Avenue Mainroom. On stage with her was Andrew Maguire (drums) and Olivia Kaplan (guitar and vocals). Everyone was captivating to watch on their own, but they also all worked together as a unit quite seamlessly. Marten and Kaplan occasionally sang together in harmony, though harmonizing was done sparingly causing it to feel more impactful each time it came up. Maguire used a drum kit, though the auxiliary percussion was quite unique, at least in comparison to other drums and auxiliary setups I’ve seen in shows recently. Included were different sets of windchimes that, from a distance, looked a little like jellyfish. Everything Maguire played was very particularly placed from the occasional woodblock hit to the subtle and gentle brush of the windchimes. Combining the guitars, percussion, and vocal harmonies created such a lovely atmosphere. It was fairly refreshing to hear everything sound so crisp, precise, and locked in yet so natural, loose, and comfortable. At one point, Kaplan and Maguire left the stage leaving Marten to perform on her own. Following her bandmates' departure from the stage, she turned to the audience inquiring what to play next. People shouted many different songs; she ended up playing “Acid Tooth.” Hearing Marten play on her own felt like an important aspect to the show, allowing the audience to hear how she sounds solo. When put in the spotlight like that, some people freeze or begin to feel overwhelmed with the pressure of being the only performer on stage, though Billie Marten is not just “some people.” She appeared to be just as comfortable, if not more than she was before. As her bandmates get back onstage to begin finishing up the show, they all play “Liquid Love,” teaching the audience how to sing different parts of the song in harmony. This was a great final hoorah before the encore that wasn’t really an encore. I’ve seen more bands doing this thing recently where they outright say they aren’t doing an encore, but they will finish with the song they would normally play as an encore. I think over time an encore became expected with artists going as far as withholding their best songs FOR the encore. Isn’t the point of an encore the surprise as to what’s coming next? With that in mind, I’m glad to see more bands moving away from the obligation to do an encore. Billie Marten put on a performance that was both captivating and refreshing; exactly what I and many others have been needing lately.

-Jaren Cable