Nov 17

Nov 17 Concert Review: STICK SEASON

I originally went to this concert because my friend wanted company, and she was only going because Stephen Sanchez was supposed to be opening (spoiler alert: he did not end up opening). I had heard of Noah Kahan vaguely from TikTok– think the indie folk equivalent of Leith Ross, David Kushner, JVKE, etc. I hadn’t given much thought to him before, but it was cheap, an excuse for live music, and a way to get off campus on a Thursday, so I figured I would go with her. And I am SO glad that I did.

Noah Kahan’s debut album Stick Season was released on October 14th, 2022; less than a month before I was set to attend his concert. I’m the type of person to listen to an artists’ entire discography so I can confidently scream the lyrics right back at them, so this release date stressed me out– especially because I hadn’t realized he had released an entire album until about a week before I was going to see him live. Nevertheless, I persevered, allowing Kahan’s voice to unrelentingly blast through my headphones 24/7 for a week straight.

Upon first listen, I was floored. It appeared as though I had found the Lumineers equivalent I had searched so long and hard for– his lyrics are fantastic, and the amount of acoustic guitar (the entire album) is perfect. I was officially pumped for this concert.

The concert was at the Riviera Theater on the north side of Chicago. Kahan’s opener was Adam Melchor (if you recognize the name, it’s probably from his most popular 2018 release Real Estate). Melchor was fantastic, and I think the perfect opener for Kahan; they both love their riffs of all sorts, both acoustic and vocal. His set consisted of many tracks from his newest album, and concluded with a cover of Sufjan Stevens’ iconic Chicago. He was silly for that one.

Although Kahan’s entrance following this set was met by a slight disappointment by my friend (as he was most definitely not Stephen Sanchez), her sadness was quickly replaced by awe as Kahan jumped into his set.

SETLIST

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SETLIST -

Stick Season is based on life in a small town in Vermont; not quite relatable to us as students in Chicago, but it does inspire the nostalgia and coziness that fall brings to us anyways. As someone from the southern California coast, the vibrant colors of the fall leaves are enough for me to imagine I’m walking through a rustic town in New England, rather than one of the most urban regions of the Midwest. Kahan’s set did exactly this; he brought the audience with him as he sang about the unfortunate combination of longing and excitement and sadness that comes with leaving where you’re from.

Kahan also opened up to the audience about his mental health struggles, talking about the difficulties that come with reaching out for help: in his song Growing Sideways, he talks about experiencing therapy for the first time since childhood, attending with the intent of actually working on himself for the first time with the lyrics:

“But I ignore things, and I move sideways
‘Til I forget what I felt in the first place”

Kahan’s band also had some recognizable names, most notably Noah in the Open, who was on acoustic guitar. Something I really appreciated about this concert was Kahan’s introductions of the band at the beginning of the set; I always hated how the drummer was just a drummer until the end of the show. You could tell that the band really loved what they were doing, and their interactions with one another were at times more entertaining than Kahan himself.

I love indie-folk concerts because the fans are always respectful, enthusiastic, and filled with so much love for the artist. Never, in all of my concert-going endeavors, have I ever heard an audience sing so loud through the entire set that the artist was almost not needed at all; and I have been to the likes of Taylor Swift, The Lumineers, and many more much more prominent artists. There is something really special about “smaller” (Kahan now has 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, but this can still be considered small in the grand scheme of things) artists and their fanbases. It truly is a community, and seeing the genuine love the audience members had for this artist was truly inspiring.

Ultimately, although I don’t know Kahan’s music like the back of my hand quite yet, I thoroughly enjoyed this concert experience. If you enjoy indie-folk music and have the time, I highly encourage you to give Stick Season a try.