Sure Sure and Half Alive
Webster Hall // New York, NY // October 2nd, 2019
Photos and review by Jess Williams
On October 2nd, indie pop band half alive brought their Now, Not Yet tour to New York’s Webster Hall. The historical Union Square venue had a line that spread down 11th Street, wrapping around the corner to head north on Third Avenue. Fans were buzzing in line, discussing their sheer excitement for the performance ahead of them and how much they were looking forward to what would be a killer show.
Sure Sure
Once inside, fans climbed the layered staircases to the grand ballroom and found themselves face to face with the stage. Not before long, the lights dimmed and the opening band Sure Sure graced the stage. Before their performance, I had never heard of the Los Angeles indie pop band, but they definitely piqued my interest. The band, consisting of four members, stood across the stage in a horizontal line, all dressed in white and standing in front of their respective instruments. Without hesitation, they dove right into their set, which was chock full of shoe shifting, hip swaying and goofy dance moves for all. I really enjoyed the lackadaisical aspect of Sure Sure’s performance, as they performed with an energy that reminded us all to never take life too seriously.
Half Alive
After a brief set change, an LED light panel was installed on the back of the stage and half alive’s notable “~|O” logo shined. The lights went dark and the band, including back up horn and strings players as well as their two dancers, graced the stage. The three band members took center stage, standing around a music stand that held a beat pad on it. The first song of the evening was “ok ok?,” which saw lead singer, Josh Taylor, move slowly around fellow band members, Brett Kramer and J Tyler Johnson, while a single flashlight floated around their heads.
They then slipped behind their instruction, with Taylor strapping a red electric guitar over his back and transitioned into “RUNAWAY.” Half alive performed a lengthy thirteen song setlist that included some fan favorites like “arrow” and “still feel,” as well as the final song of the evening, “creature.”
The most notable thing that I loved about half alive’s performance that evening was their incorporation of contemporary dance into their live performance. The band caught traction in the industry for their music videos that featured both professional dancers as well as the band members themselves performing their songs while incorporating contemporary dance, contorting and twisting their bodies within each other. There aren’t many bands out there – actually, I’m not sure if there are any that I can think off – that have incorporated another artistic medium like that into their musical brand and it was unique and refreshing to see that the band chose to bring that aspect of themselves into the live show as well!
