Clinton Kane @ Brighton Music Hall 2/28

Photography by Kathy Doan

Review by Michelle Leung

On a uniquely warm February evening, fans streamed into Allston’s Brighton Music Hall, milling about and chatting casually until the opener took the stage. 

Following a tumultuous 2024 controversy centered around unfounded claims about the death of his mother, Norwegian-Filipino singer-songwriter Clinton Kane has bounced back with the release of his newest album, “4350 S Hualapai Way.” With a steady 2.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify, he embarked on the 4350 Live Tour, with support from Julian Ray. Allston is the ninth stop of the North American leg of this tour. 

Ray took the stage at 8 p.m., immediately firing up the crowd with his magnetic charisma and easygoing demeanor. Although it was his first time performing in Boston, he seemed at home onstage and interacted with the audience, asking for their participation during his song “i don’t want a future without you.” The crowd yelled, “You!” in sync with Ray when he cued them in. Ray performed for around half an hour, with songs like “crash your party,” “downtown calgary,” and an unreleased track, “dirtbag.”

When the house lights dimmed again, Kane was sitting at the wooden piano onstage. He began to sing straightaway with his short ballad “do I even know me?” When the song came to an end, he grabbed an acoustic guitar, leading seamlessly into the folk-pop single “CHICKEN TENDIES.” The crowd was extremely responsive, singing the choruses enthusiastically. Still without addressing the audience, Kane continued down his setlist with the falsetto-heavy “don’t call me back,” featuring his acoustic guitar.

Kane cultivated an intimate atmosphere, opting simply to perform solo with his instruments and isolated voice without the use of any backing tracks. Switching over to the piano once more, he crooned the indie pop track “tightrope,” off his new album. It was another heartfelt, soul-crushing number emphasized by emotional, introspective lyrics like “I can’t hold back the memories / I pushed down the parts of me / I never had time to bleed / No wonder it’s so hard for me to move on.” 

Leaving a brief moment for applause, Kane delivered a tender, painful rendition of “why” off the same album, followed by “DANCING ALL ALONE,” so absorbed in his emotions that he didn’t outwardly acknowledge the dedicated fans who sang along. “Let’s go, Boston!” Kane yelled 20 minutes into the set, as the lights surrounding the stage glowed brighter. He joked, promising that every fan would know the next song, “Fix It to Break It,” which gained significant traction on TikTok in 2020. A higher-energy track, “this is what being cheated on feels like,” followed, accompanied by Kane’s acoustic guitar.

Something very tangible that defined Kane’s performance was his use of contrast; he was skilled at building tension through his belting vocals from an almost-whispery tone. His vocal prowess was especially evident in “MAKE ME YOUR MONSTER,” which was released in 2024 as a standalone single. Introducing his next song, “forget about us,” Kane expressed how he usually doesn’t perform the track live as it’s very emotionally taxing for him, but “we’re doing it now because we’re back and we’re better than ever.” Kane’s insistence on the latter would remain a running statement throughout the remainder of the show.

Right before launching into “forget about us,” Kane cursed, apparently afflicted by a sudden cramp in his arm. Though it was a brief moment, the audience murmured, and some chuckles rang out, with Kane jokingly biting out, “It’s not funny, stop laughing, dude!” The next track off the setlist was “TALLER,” sung in a slightly lower key than the original, followed by “maybe i’m just a little too much” from the new album. 

Addressing the audience once more, Kane explained that the next song had never been performed live, as he had only thought of adding it to the setlist two hours prior. Sharing a wish to be closer to the fans, he had a mic stand brought down to the center of the crowd, and he jumped off the stage and over the barricade to stand at the mic, holding his guitar. Fans shifted until they encircled Kane, who began to sing “i don’t want to watch the world end with someone else.” Kane trained his gaze on the guitar instead of making eye contact with the surrounding audience as he followed with “miserable,” “14,” “GO TO HELL,” and “for the rest of my life.” 

Returning to the stage, Kane ended his set with “I GUESS I’M IN LOVE,” proclaiming that he would head to the merch table and try to meet every single person who came to see him. 

As a performer, Kane pours heartbreak into his music, and he has clearly built up a core audience that resonates with his stripped-back, authentic storytelling. He appears extremely human, without trying to play a character, which will only benefit his image and keep him connected with his listeners. Now the question becomes which direction awaits Kane moving forward: will he keep leaning into sorrowful ballads or pivot into experimenting across different genres?