Fruit Bats (Solo) @ The Sinclair 11/2
Photo Credit: Chantal Anderson
Review by Samantha Gamero
On Nov. 2, Grammy nominated Eric Johnson, frontman of indie folk band Fruit Bats, played his last sold-out show of his stripped-down, one-man tour. This never-before-done solo tour accompanied the release of Fruit Bats’ newest record, “Baby Man.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Johnson described “Baby Man” as a move towards minimalism highlighting the simplicity of folk. This record was made “accidently” over the course of one week, Johnson explained. The simplicity was highlighted in this acoustic show that pleasantly isolated Johnson’s soulful vocals and storytelling lyrics.
One mic, a guitar, a banjo, and a piano lay on stage, waiting to be played. With no opener, Johnson took the stage promptly at 8 p.m. and immediately lit the warm ambiance of the Sinclair with powerful vocals and the raw strumming of his acoustic guitar. As he sang the first song, “Moon’s Too Bright” a humming noise rang in the distance, which, after the song finished, Johnson broke character and pointed it out to the crowd. Throughout the show, Johnson engaged in a similarly intimate dynamic with the crowd, from forgetting lyrics, to asking for song recommendations, and struggling to find the right tune. It felt like an intimate gathering between loyal fans and Johnson, all of us immersed in the melodies of Fruit Bats’ extensive discography.
On the released records, Fruit Bats perfectly fuses Johnson’s raspy folk vocals with upbeat and loud instrumentals, varying from electric guitars, banjos, and the cymbals. This acoustic, slower live version, however, at times felt like a blurred mosaic of songs into one big folk story. But the variations in his voice that characterize the style of many folk artists gave the performance life. A notable, and perhaps off putting, song he played was “Creature from the Wild” off of “Baby Man.” A song about the passing of his dog “Pinto.” As commentary beforehand, Johnson explained that “Pinto,” in reference to Pinto beans, was a “creature from the wild,” off the streets of Mexico. Why he was calling the streets of Mexico “the wild” or his dog a halfway derogatory term, I am not completely sure. The group in front of me even noticed these lyrics and threw glances at each other. The lyrics themselves did not seem rather deep or fully developed, and “Creatures from the Wild” definitely proved this.
As the show continued, Johnson played a number of songs off of Fruit Bats’ more popular records like “Gold Past Lives,” “Mouthfuls,” and “The Pet Parade.” Some highlights he played from these records included my personal favorites, “The Bottom of It” and “The Balcony.” I couldn’t recognize the harmonies of these tracks due to the stripped down sound of these versions; however, Johnson did a great job at subsisting his voice for the missing instruments. More people knew the lyrics to these songs, and I could see people mouthing along without disrupting the silence and stillness of the room.
After playing some fan favorites, Johnson let the audience guide the rest of the performance, as he explained how he decided to structure this tour. People were shouting, “Seaweed!” “Primitive Man!”,“Tegucigalpa!”and numerous other songs from their discography. In an honest manner, Johnson advised the audience that he might not recall how to play certain songs off of older records, revealing authenticity in his performance. He did, in fact, play “Seaweed” off of “Mouthfuls,” a slow song that he explained is hard to perform with the full band because in his words, “would make people fall asleep.”
He ended the set with “Humbug Mountain Song,” a classic upbeat track from the record “Absolute Loser.” This track without the numerous other instruments was almost unrecognizable with just his guitar, but the audience lent their vocals and hand clapping, making this closing song more audibly full. Johnson’s encore included “You’re Too Weird” off of “Tripper,” and closed out with the perfect singalong song,“When U Love Somebody.” Couples gazed at each other as the audience sang along, it was the perfect track to end this intimate show that Sunday night.