Julien Baker spent three nights – November 5th thru 7th – residing at Athens, Georgia’s 40 Watt Club, and by the time doors opened on night two, the room was only a few tickets shy of capacity. The Ophelias got things moving first, their shimmering indie pop-rock setting a loose, bright tone that Baker undid within seconds of walking out. As the sample droned through a darkened venue, the crowd that had been dancing went still and drifted closer, a room full of people who seemed to have come to feel something together.
The tenderness held even when the volume didn’t. “Sprained Ankle” and “Sour Breath” drew the singalongs you’d hope for, and Baker shared a few new songs while the distorted guitars swelled without ever turning the night into a spectacle. Their performance felt exposed and unguarded, and the room answered in kind: strangers singing the same lines at the same moment, each hearing something a little different in them.
After all, that’s the draw of a Julien Baker show. You walk in carrying something heavy and walk out with a smile, a little lighter than when you came.
