Bartees Strange spent most of 2024 off the road and working on new music so aside from a handful of gigs, it's been some time since the band got back together to go on tour. As stated from the stage, enough time away can make anyone question as to whether or not fans might still care when you make your return. Well, based on the packed crowd at Bowery Ballroom, a lot of people have cared about what Bartees Strange has been up to and were stoked to rock out to the new songs live. Hanging out all the way stage right, Bartees was tucked into the corner for the majority of the set while the rest of the band arced around the stage and popped out only occasionally to take the main center spotlight for a few massive guitar solos. Opening the night with "Wants Needs" it was clear that even without being front and center, the Bartees was still commanding attention and ready to lead the crowd through the entirety of his new album with a dash of a few oldies thrown in to the mix. Hitting us with the new album in near-sequential order really helped drill home the new tunes and enhanced each of them to a point of further appreciation. The sleeker sounds of washed-over synths mixed with funky guitars makes for something rather unique and being able to take it all in with Bartees' blazing passion surging along makes each number all the more enthralling and bumps up the raw appeal with focused results. In particular, "Sober" took on a new life in a live setting and helped reveal new layers that made it one of the true highlights of the night. "I don't always read the comments, but I was reading just some comments, which I shouldn't do at all, and someone had posted 'I wish Bartees would just make rock songs again.' Well I got a rock song for you!" he so victoriously declared as he launched into "Mustang" which had the entire room immediately propel into the highest point of energy so far in the night. With hands flying in the air and people shouting along to the track's swelling chorus, it was a major upswing in energy and excellently proved the point that when Bartees wants to let it rip, there's absolutely nothing standing in the way. Following up such a major moment with "17" was another solid move and the switch from acoustic to electric guitar to deliver the crushing finale of the song was stellar and once again had the crowd feeding from the pulsating energy. "Heavy Heart" completed the set list trifecta of the night and nailed the anthemic vibes that were running through the building, the guitar work once again allowing Bartees to shine and dazzle the crowd with their unflinching skills and powerful showmanship. For the encore, the band returned and gave us two gems from Bartees' wonderful debut Live Forever and the one-two of "Stone Meadows" into "Boomer" sent the crowd soaring, the rush upon the closing track's fervent guitar helped re-clarify Strange as one that can cross many genres, but still throw down an unforgiving solo when the time is just right.
Set list:
01 "Wants Needs"
02 "Too Much"
03 "Hit It Quit It"
04 "Sober"
05 "Baltimore"
06 "Lie 95"
07 "Lovers"
08 "Doomsday Buttercup"
09 "Mustang"
10 "17"
11 "Heavy Heart"
12 "Loop Defenders"
13 "Norf Gun"
14 "Backseat Banton"
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15 "Stone Meadows"
16 "Boomer"
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