CHELSEA CUTLER & JEREMY ZUCKER @ WANG THEATRE 11/22
Photography by Brennan Kauffman
Review by Ashley Duong
Typically, fleeting interactions in a frat basement wouldn’t land people on a 10-show tour after creating three musical projects together—unless you were Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler, a pair of powerhouse musicians fatefully put on a serendipitous journey together. It culminated in “Brent Forever: The Tour,” a joint tour to perform their newest album, “brent iii,” with a sold-out stop in Boston at the Boch Center Wang Theater on Friday, November 22.
The concert started with Grace Enger, a folk-pop artist with lyrical craftsmanship and magnetic charm, opening the night. Her songs covered resonant topics like self-sabotage, heartbreak, and romantic limerance. She explained that since Jeremy and Chelsea were her top Spotify-wrapped artists in 2019, being an opener on the Brent Forever tour was a full-circle moment. She reenergized the crowd by mashing up her song “imytn” with “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer.
Moments later, a four-player orchestra, a keyboardist, bassist, drummer, and synthesizer, walked out, sitting on an elevated C-shaped constructed stage made of wood planks facing the audience. In the area outlined by the elevated stage, there was a cabin set up with a couch, chairs, and a piano, illuminated by three lamps, a chandelier, and an LED strip of lights behind the stage. As they both walked on stage, Jeremy set up a projector screen and played a video montage of the creation of brent iii, immediately solidifying that before they’re a pair of musicians, they’re a pair of genuine best friends.
The orchestra played a brief solo to introduce “ashes & rust,” bringing its studio version to life on the stage. The crowd was rejuvenated with a spontaneous uproar: someone in the orchestra section proposed to their partner during “terrible things,” a song detailing the mundane things you hope to learn and love about your partner. After a stint of confusion, Jeremy and Chelsea joked about not knowing how to proceed, saying, “This is the only congratulations you get!”
Jeremy asked everyone in the seated theater to stand during “A-Frame,” the mid-point of the show and the second single from the recent album. The lively crowd matched Jeremy dancing on the table with his banjo, from those in the last balcony rows dancing their hearts out to those in the front of the pit lined against the stage. During “please,” it became clear that the show’s sound quality was of high caliber. From the individual guitar strum to the orchestra, each part distinctly resonated throughout the theatre, showcasing the incredible choice of venue for an intimate-style performance. I realized, too, that what I thought was backing vocals from the supporting instrumentalists was the crowd singing along all this time, a testament to the immense loyalty and passion of the Boston audience.
As much as they were performing for the audience, part of me believed that they were performing for each other. It was a show celebrating their friendship and growth. Unlike any concert before, their friendship brought another element to their stage presence. Chelsea is the focal point during “love you into loving me,” as Jeremy comedically rests on the couch, puts his feet up, and waves his flashlight during the song, encouraging the crowd to do so as well. Chelsea explained, “For the longest time, I thought it was a serendipitous thing, but I just learned yesterday that Jeremy is making you all do this. So gullible.” Chelsea returns the favor, supporting Jeremy by playing an electric toothbrush sound into the mic during “toothbrush song” bringing his musical production and creativity to life on stage.
They left their showstoppers for the end, allowing the orchestra, lighting, and use of the set design to bring the show together. Cutting the lights beside one sole spotlight on Jeremy during the lyric “the year’s already gone” in “brooklyn boy” left the theatre in a silent state of awe. Chelsea sitting at the piano and Jeremy sitting close by on the wooden stage for “you were good to me” — the song that started their collaborative career — made a 3,600-capacity theater feel like an intimate room filled with your loved ones. And “just breathe” was a combination of it all: a live song making its audience believe in its lyrics, “you’re gonna be fine, you’re doing alright, just breathe” through their passionate energy on stage, working seamlessly with the orchestra to tell a story with the instruments’ crescendoing dynamics, and genuine care for their own lyrics, as Chelsea giggled after singing “Tell my brother that I miss him, ’cause he won’t pick up the phone” to her brother in the crowd.
To sum up the night in words that Jeremy and Chelsea exchanged with each other before the night even started, “Boston is so fucking Brent.”
