ARTICLE BY CHERYL CHENG
PHOTO BY DL ANDERSON from Sylvan Esso
AUGUST 21 | WEST HOLLYWOOD—North Carolina duo Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn performed to a packed Troubadour tonight, the first of two sold-out shows at the WeHo venue. Fans of the duo’s Sylvan Esso know that the music emphasizes dance—just watch the dance-centric music videos “Play It Right” and “Coffee”—and tonight’s show centered on the act of movement. In fact, both Meath and Sanborn were more than willing to share their moves throughout the show. Dressed all in black, Meath resembled a professional dancer—with impressive vocals. Sanborn also lost himself in the music, with his arms flailing and head shaking.
Perhaps attributed to their individual experience in other music projects—Meath of Mountain Man and Sanborn of Made of Oak—the two are great performers, completely at ease on stage. “I have a weird job because my job is to be on a platform above you,” Meath observed jokingly.
Despite this height, as well as their increasingly heightened success, both were sincere in their appreciation of the crowd. “We could not be more happy to be here,” Sanborn exclaimed—before poking fun at the city. “Did you have lots of farro salads? Since we’re in L.A.” Meath joked. “It’s like you have a kale salad punchcard,” Sanborn added.
All kidding aside, they produced an impressively full sound, despite the sparse setup and only being two people. The entirety of their self-titled debut was performed, but there were a few variations in the songs’ live versions. During “Coffee,” Meath invited the audience to sing along to the “my baby does the hanky panky” chorus. Another cool effect was during “Could I Be” when Sanborn recorded a part of Meath’s vocals and had it echo at the end. Throughout the set, Sanborn added small, subtle touches to the songs, slightly altering them and adding an unexpected element.
Although it can sometimes be hard to get L.A. fans to interact, tonight’s audience was all in, with one woman even jumping on stage to dance with Meath. When introducing “Wolf,” Meath said it was time for a slow dance, inviting fans to “dance with me if you want to.” And they did, swaying along to the soft beats.
Before the last song of the set, “Play It Right,” both Meath and Sanborn seemed reluctant for the night to end. “As you may or may not know, we only have one record,” Sanborn said apologetically. But despite having only a 10-song album, the two still came back for an encore, performing a Torches cover and the last song on the Sylvan Esso album, “Come Down.” The encore definitely brought the crowd to a more subdued level, so it was curious that they chose to end the set on such a quiet note. “They can’t all be barnburners,” Sanborn explained.
Sylvan Esso will perform another sold-out show at the Troubadour tonight. Hopefully you have tickets.
BUY TICKETS: August 23rd: Sylvan Esso at the Troubadour (SOLD OUT)
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