REVIEW: A Hot, Sweaty, Intimate Night With MUNA in NYC
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY JULIA FINOCCHIARO ☆
MUNA'S MOST DEDICATED FANS SPILLED OUT INTO THE STREETS OF WILLIAMSBURG LAST TUESDAY NIGHT for the final of four nights of album release shows at the intimate 650 capacity Music Hall of Williamsburg in New York City. The group just released their fourth full-length album, Dancing On The Wall, earlier in May, and with it came a run of small shows in LA and NYC to celebrate its release.
The format of these small shows has been largely the same, with the first half of the night being a full playthrough of Dancing On The Wall, and the second half being an extended encore of their older hits. We'll be focusing on the vibes of the show here, but for a more in-depth glance at the album, you can check out our full review.
"It Gets So Hot" was the perfect name for a song to start the night. Air conditioning in the venue was few and far between for the hottest day of the year so far in the city, but fans and the band embraced the 90-degree sweaty atmosphere as the show began a bit after 9pm with no opening act. Lead singer Katie Gavin came out to the stage in a leopard-print bodysuit and bright red tights, and she was joined by Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson along with some touring band members. The intro led right into two singles and fan favorites from the album, "Dancing On The Wall" and "Eastside Girls," to which the audience sang along with every word.
"New York City was the first place we really did anything," Gavin remarked a few songs in. She spoke about how the band built their way up in the city all the way from an apartment in Crown Heights, to The Mercury Lounge, to now four nights in a row at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. In the fall, the trio will be headlining their first festival right back in New York City at All Things Go.
The playthrough of Dancing On The Wall continued in order with "On Call," "So What," and "Mary Jane." The politically charged undertones of the album and commentary on the state of the world were evident throughout, and you could feel the musicians' anger and frustration bleeding its way through the live performance of the songs. There was no confusion on their stance with "Big Stick," repeating striking lyrics like "America gives more than America takes" and "We give weapons to dictators and apartheid states."
Synths take the lead on this album, and that was true for the live performances as well. "Girl's Girl" had production reminiscent of The 1975's Notes on a Conditional Form, and the ‘80s synth pop and guitar sounds translated perfectly to a live performance that was easy to bounce around to. "Why Do I Get A Good Feeling" brought in what sounded like some live vocoder on Gavin's voice alongside a violin solo from the singer at the end of the track. "Buzzkiller" wrapped up the set, bringing with it the same lighting and production as the opening track, which emphasized the cohesiveness of the new album as an entire project. Gavin would comment later in the set that the band "made our saddest album, but we also made it to listen to with you all," and that was a perfect way to describe the first 45 minutes or so of the night.
After a brief break off stage, MUNA returned to play some of their older material. "Stayaway" from their second album Saves the World was up first, followed by "What I Want" and "Number One Fan." While fans in the audience did a very respectable job singing along to the brand new songs, they were even louder and more enthusiastic with these songs that had been with them for years already. During "Anything but Me," an inflatable horse made its way around the audience as it bounced over people's heads and eventually on stage. They of course closed with "Silk Chiffon," with Phoebe Bridgers' part sung by Naomi McPherson.
MUNA plays three more small shows in London this week before embarking on a larger tour supporting Dancing On The Wall in August, starting with appearances at Lollapalooza and Hinterland Festival. You can see all the dates and buy tickets here.
