Review by Ashley Duong<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a sneaking suspicion this is going to be one of the best nights of my life,\u201d said Noah Kahan, 25 year old folk-pop artist. My suspicion, which was eventually proven right, was that Kahan was speaking for himself <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> his fans that night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On Oct. 22nd, 2022, Noah Kahan created a community during his show at Boston\u2019s MGM Music Hall at Fenway. Like many shows on his \u201cStick Season\u201d tour, named after his recently released album <\/span>Stick Season<\/span><\/i>, this show was completely sold out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Alternative\/indie artist Adam Melchor opened the show with an impressive cover of \u201cSomewhere Over the Rainbow.\u201d Melchor was the sole instrumentalist during his set, effortlessly carrying his own. His set consisted of songs off his recently released album, and appreciative comments about touring with Kahan.<\/span><\/p>\n The lights went completely off as Kahan\u2019s band started powerfully playing. Kahan walked out in a reserved manner, immediately eliciting a reaction from the crowd with his presence. Illuminated by the blue stage lighting, he smiled and pointed the head of his guitar towards the crowd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kahan opened with \u201cFalse Confidence,\u201d maintaining the songs\u2019 demanding, upbeat vocals and instrumentals, all while running across the stage. His next song, \u201cAll My Love,\u201d showcased not only his vocal range (and the fact that he rocks the ukulele) but his talent of easily eliciting a powerful emotion from the audience: love. The room was filled with it when he powerfully sang the lyrics, \u201cThere ain’t a drop of bad blood, it’s all my love \/ You got all my love\u201d with a smile on his face.<\/span><\/p>\n After the song ended, he introduced himself. \u201cI\u2019ve been called the Jewish Ed Sheeran,\u201d Kahan joked, immediately letting his personality shine. He confessed that he was already so sweaty due to his fur lined jacket (which he eventually took off later in the set, making a bit out of it).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After the quick introduction, his band left the stage for Kahan\u2019s solo, acoustic set of \u201cGlue Myself Shut\u201d and \u201cGrowing Sideways.\u201d With just an acoustic guitar and subtle stage lighting, he created a remarkable intimacy in such a large venue. The band returned and continued adding to the shared intimacy with the crowd. During songs like \u201cEverywhere, Everything,\u201d \u201cShe Calls Me Back,\u201d and \u201cNorthern Altitude\u201d \u2014 several songs from his new album \u2014 the audience experienced a collective effervescence. From friends dancing together and screaming the lyrics to couples sharing loving looks, Kahan proved that he could do more than create music: he could create a community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kahan knew how to own a stage, but he also knew how to share it. During several instrumental solos, specifically with the lead guitarist, he moved back, letting the guitarist fully take the spotlight. His band\u2019s vocals provided beautiful harmonies during \u201cCarlo\u2019s Song\u201d and \u201cCome Over.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The musical stories he told through his stage presence and musical choices were entrancing. During \u201cHomesick,\u201d he and his band worked together through vocal build, powerful harmonies, and dynamic instrumentals to create an incredible musical crescendo, cascading through the crowd. In \u201cYoungblood,\u201d he made up an alternative rhythm at the end of his song for \u201cRub your eyes, be surprised, keep hungry \/ Stay alive, try to lose all of your money,\u201d catching the audience off guard. It felt like he wanted to emphasize those lyrics to the audiences, making expressive eye contact all around the room like it was a message he wanted each and everyone of us to know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kahan and his band then pretended the show was over, teasing the fans by walking off stage. At many concerts, this elicits a wavering chant of the performer\u2019s name \u2014 but with Kahan? It was a constant cheer that never ended. It was obvious that his fans would wait until midnight if it meant they were to get a proper encore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When Kahan returned, he sang \u201cThe View Between Villages,\u201d another song from his new album. In a venue holding 5,000 people, someone from the back of the pit screamed, \u201cYEAH NOAH!\u201d bringing a smile to Kahan\u2019s face. After, Kahan sang \u2014 arguably the most anticipated song of the night \u2014 \u201cStick Season,\u201d the song that jump started his rising popularity. Everyone in the room, whether they knew the lyrics or not, evidently loved it, including the band members on stage who laughed out of pure enjoyment. Joy and gratitude radiated from Kahan, as he again pointed his guitar at the audience and then clapped when the song finished. I now realize that this gesture was his way of hinting to the crowd that this show was not his, nor mine, but it was ours. A collective effort. He concluded with \u201cMess,\u201d a nostalgic ode to his first album, <\/span>Busyhead<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are some nights I thought about quitting,\u201d Kahan vulnerably shared. \u201cBut there are nights like tonight that make it worth it.\u201d With the show that Kahan put on, I argue that he, again, also spoke for the audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Review by Ashley Duong \u201cI have a sneaking suspicion this is going to be one of the best nights of my life,\u201d said Noah Kahan, 25 year old folk-pop artist. My suspicion, which was eventually proven right, was that Kahan was speaking for himself and his fans that night.\u00a0 On Oct. 22nd, 2022, Noah Kahan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20669,"featured_media":34131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34129"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20669"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34129"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34132,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34129\/revisions\/34132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}