There is something in the air at Big Thief concerts–it’s not anything scary or bad, but true emotion and connectedness amongst the crowds, almost like everyone there has an underlying, intertwined understanding of one another just from the music they listen to. The indie-folk band embarked on their North American tour for their new album, “Double Infinity.” The tour opened on Sept. 17 in Sacramento, CA, at the venue Channel 24, but brought a handful of people from around the state, with people traveling up to six hours just to witness the band in real time. Whether the concert attendees were in the front, holding tight to the barricade, or lingering around in the back of the venue, all the songs resonated with them the same, as the band has this ability to draw crowds in without even trying.
Their sixth studio album, “Double Infinity,” houses nine songs, each with its own experience just waiting to be had. But overall, the most anticipated amongst people in line was “Los Angeles.” The song, written by the lead singer of the band, Adrianne Lenker, is about unbreakable love that transcends friendships or romance. Oscar Arellano, an attendee of the concert expressed his love for the song, “The laughter at the beginning of the song makes me think of my friends and just the whole song being about, without leaving a question, you just show up for your friends,” said Arellano, “I sent it to my friends this morning and I wasn’t sure if they had heard the album, but I just said, ‘this song reminds me of you guys.” When “Los Angeles” ended up being on the setlist, crowds swayed to the same beat, allowing the words to take over, all having this sort of relative deep comprehension of the lyrics.
The band welcomed crowds with the debut of an unreleased song, “Beautiful World,” with lyrics such as “It’s a f***** up world / Why must everything be conquеred? / But it is so beautiful / Let’s blow a holе in the center of it,” which explores themes of political statements, as well as travelling around, comprehending the world we live in, but Lenker responds to the flaws found within it. “I hope more people become interested in the arts and start supporting events like this,” Arenello said, “and artists like this [Big Thief] who are speaking about something greater than themselves.”
“Masterpiece,” the title song to Big Thief’s discography off their debut album, struck a new key with the crowd, being more upbeat and clunky with guitar solos right and left, similar to “Not,” off the band’s 2019 album. Both songs share the same energy that reached crowds, showcasing Big Thief’s more alternative-rock style of music with off-key and improvisational parts, amping crowds up. Keeping the same energy up, “Spud Infinity” draws crowds back to the folky side of the band. With a super funky fiddle and an almost bluegrass essence to it, tying audiences back into their newfound style that became more prevalent in the previous 2023 album, “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You.”
The band then continued to sweeten the audience down as Lenker played, “Sadness as a Gift,” which is one of her own side project’s songs from her discography. Tears were shed, hands were held, and most importantly, fans were reminded of why they love Big Thief’s music: the lyricism. “We could see the sadness as a gift and still feel too heavy to hold,” the song tells this tender story of trying to hold onto the sadness that one experiences, acknowledging that emotion doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, but rather a gift.
“Big Thief’s music makes me feel reflective. I find myself listening to their music at times when I want to think. There is some music that you put on that can turn off your mind, but Big Thief makes me think about my childhood, my childhood best friends, my mom, my dad. Just beautiful the way in which they write lyrics, the way that Adrianne Lenker moves her pen around, she can’t fail,” said Arenello.
“Nothing has resonated with me more than her lyricism,” said Lily Lutes, who was the first person in line for the concert, “I’ve probably been here since 12:30 a.m., I wanted to camp out at the barricade because nothing has moved me more than Adrianne’s music and Big Thief’s music, and I needed to see them up close.” This philosophy of wanting to be as close to the music as possible was popular among people at the concert. “I took a train, a bus, and an Uber to get there. I didn’t drive at all, but it was a trek from Fresno. It was around 4 or 5 hours,” said Arenello.
“Incomprehensible,” a track off the new album, was a crowd favorite by far, with it gaining popularity through the fan base earlier this year when being played as a special unreleased song during concerts, then making it onto the album. Shouts of excitement echoed throughout the venue when the first chord was strummed, knowing exactly what they were in for. The song follows this acceptance of growing older, and understanding that the world will continue to grow older, and you will alongside it. “‘I’m afraid of getting older,’” the lyrics read, “that’s what I’ve learned to say / Society has given me the words to think that way / The message spirals, ‘Don’t get saggy, don’t get grey.’ / But the soft and lovely silvers are now fallin’ on my shoulder.” But no matter how old each person in the crowd was, every one of the lyrics within the song felt relative to them, as every person at one point is fearful of growing up.
There aren’t nearly enough words that could be used to describe Big Thief, but some of them are truly “Ethereal, moving, and emotional,” Lutes said. There isn’t a band worth spending the day traveling to more than Big Thief, with each song being an experience to be had in and of itself, and just turning around in the crowd, you witness a sea of faces that are indoctrinated with Lenker’s lyricism and hypnotized with the tune that rings in their ears.
