A great party often has a theme and while you may think a costume party is already enough of a theme, Cassandra Jenkins took things a step further and played into the pet and animal motifs of her music for her last U.S. show before heading off on tour to Europe. Decked out in blue polos and t-shirts, Jenkins and her band assumed the personas of Petco employees for the evening's show and led the crowd through a joyous performance of wonderfully mesmerizing music. With a voice fragile like glass, she gracefully whispered her deeply poetic words to us over a range of melodies and grooves that dipped into shoegaze and dream-pop whirls of swelling guitar as well as freewheeling, ambient saxophone that brought environmental jazz elements into the equation too. Easing into the night, she strummed an acoustic guitar to take us into a steady and lighthearted rendition of "Destroyer," delightfully ushering us into her realm of serenity and reflections. Picking up the fuzz, "Aurora" gave way to the alt-rock inspirations of Pixies and Radiohead's The Bends as her guitar sound began to electrify with a radiant sheen of whipped-up clouds of distortion. Jenkins was already a dominant performer, but with the addition of her new album and its songs to her set list, her shows now feel incredibly flushed out, rich, and full of enriching textures that create a truly stupendous live music experience, a grunge-pop sound bath that feels more healing with each song. "Michelangelo" gave Jenkins another opportunity to really dig in with more crunchy guitar and a very steadfast rhythm that marched along with pristine precision. When she got to "Petco," the room lit up and the guitar crushed with surging appeal and gave her performance an extra bite to heighten the senses just enough before plunging into a cover of the Ramones' "Pet Cemetery" for a fun Halloween surprise. The restorative nature of a song like "New Bikini" which Jenkins mentioned had recently been added back to the set list, returned the crowd to a state of zen-like bliss. Continuing the ebb and flow of the night, "Clams Casino" brought the energy back up as people from the crowd finally gained the confidence to sing along with Jenkins, no longer afraid to overpower her delicate croon as the volume kicked in and set things off for the rest of the night. After announcing only one more song was in order for the night, the marching rhythm of "Hard Drive" set in and suddenly the room fell under the spell of Jenkins as she led us through a transformative and nourishing rendition of the track. A song that became a balm of hope and inspiration during the days of lockdowns, it still holds a power that can feel rejuvenating and purifying so to hear it live is always a sensational experience and this one was no different, the fidelity of each instrument on stage given the maximal treatment for a divine performance. Naturally the band did return for an encore and dedicated "Ambiguous Norway" to anyone who had experienced a loss and invited our lost ones to join the cosmic guest list and be present for the song, another moving moment that felt like one of true solace. After a request came earlier from within the crowd, Jenkins obliged for the final song of the night and serenaded us all with a touching and elegant "Crosshairs," no doubt making the evening for that fan and bringing us all to one more state of total elation through her sublime blend of celestial sounds and etherial vocals.
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