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Angel Olsen Setlist
Tour Dates
10/04 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/05 — Lawrence, KS @ The Granada 10/07 — Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival 10/14 — Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival 10/18 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena 10/20 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum 10/21 — Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena 10/22 — Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Events Center 10/23 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot 11/18 — Mexico City, DF @ Corona Capital 11/28 — Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater 11/29 — New York, NY @ Town Hall 11/30 — New York, NY @ Town Hall 12/01 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel 12/02 — Portland, ME @ State Theatre 12/04 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues 12/05 — Montreal, QC @ Rialto Theatre 12/06 — Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre 12/07 — Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre 12/08 — Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre 12/09 — Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre 12/10 — Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom 12/12 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 12/13 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 12/14 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club 12/16 — Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel Read More
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Like Neko Case and Sharon Van Etten before her, Angel Olsen has proven herself to be not just the keeper of one powerful and heavenly voice but also an impressive lyricist and songwriter. Before going out on her own, Olsen worked and toured with Bonnie “Prince” Billy providing back-up vocals, piano and guitar. Olsen’s full-length debut Half Way Home (2012) comprised of hushed dark folk numbers but her musical output has gotten much fuzzier and louder since then. Favored themes of longing and self-discovery, however, continued in her lyrics throughout 2014’s Burn Your Fire For No Witness and then last year’s divine garage-rock jewel My Woman. After almost a year of My Woman being on repeat on my stereo, I finally got my chance to be whisked away by the swoon-worthy Angel Olsen live in concert.
North Carolina’s Mount Moriah served as a fine opening act, their easy-going yet soulful country tunes warming up a crowd wet from rain and weary from reading the news. Lead singer/guitarist Heather McEntire, guitarist Jenks Miller and bassist Casey Toll played songs from their most recent album 2016’s Learn How to Dance (like “Little Bear”) as well as 2013’s Miracle Temple. They also delivered a fantastic and timely cover of Nina Simone’s righteous “I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free.”
Now, let me state the obvious: Angel Olsen has a voice that makes knees weak, blind men see and dreams come true. Hyperbole aside, it truly is a stunning thing, both vulnerable and sensual, reminding me of great vocalists like Brenda Lee or Patsy Cline. With her trembling wail on the set opener “Never Be Mine” and the charged frustration of “Shut Up and Kiss Me”, Olsen dug into her chest and presented the packed First Avenue club with her heart. Enraptured, fans responded by respectfully keeping quiet before each song and then letting loose a mad wave of adulation at a song’s end.
More songs from My Woman scorched up the set: “Give It Up”, the incendiary “Not Gonna Kill You”, the 7-plus minute “Sister” complete with a noise-y swirling outro jam. Older tracks like “Hi-Five” from Burn and especially “Acrobat” from Half were fleshed out properly by Olsen’s gray-suited five-piece band. Aiding Olsen with each jaw-dropping crescendo was Mount Moriah’s McEntire, expertly harmonizing on each song as well as providing keys.
Following the audio orgasm that was “Woman”, Olsen and her band departed briefly leaving fans to sort out their bliss before they returned to the stage. After a bristling take on “Sweet Dreams”, Olsen grinned at the crowd and said, “I’m in love with you and I wanna have your child!” Maybe it was the music, melodies gauzy with desire and doused in reverb, or maybe it was the achingly honest lyrics or maybe, just maybe, Prince, the father of modern baby-making music, was there in spirit… but there were feelings. So many feelings. They filled the room, carried by that brilliant voice. Every single person at First Avenue was experiencing something overwhelming thanks to Angel Olsen. As she sings in “Not Gonna Kill You”: however painful let it break down all of me/’Til I am nothing else but the feeling.
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Mount Moriah
photo: Amy
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Now, let me state the obvious: Angel Olsen has a voice that makes knees weak, blind men see and dreams come true. Hyperbole aside, it truly is a stunning thing, both vulnerable and sensual, reminding me of great vocalists like Brenda Lee or Patsy Cline. With her trembling wail on the set opener “Never Be Mine” and the charged frustration of “Shut Up and Kiss Me”, Olsen dug into her chest and presented the packed First Avenue club with her heart. Enraptured, fans responded by respectfully keeping quiet before each song and then letting loose a mad wave of adulation at a song’s end.
More songs from My Woman scorched up the set: “Give It Up”, the incendiary “Not Gonna Kill You”, the 7-plus minute “Sister” complete with a noise-y swirling outro jam. Older tracks like “Hi-Five” from Burn and especially “Acrobat” from Half were fleshed out properly by Olsen’s gray-suited five-piece band. Aiding Olsen with each jaw-dropping crescendo was Mount Moriah’s McEntire, expertly harmonizing on each song as well as providing keys.
Following the audio orgasm that was “Woman”, Olsen and her band departed briefly leaving fans to sort out their bliss before they returned to the stage. After a bristling take on “Sweet Dreams”, Olsen grinned at the crowd and said, “I’m in love with you and I wanna have your child!” Maybe it was the music, melodies gauzy with desire and doused in reverb, or maybe it was the achingly honest lyrics or maybe, just maybe, Prince, the father of modern baby-making music, was there in spirit… but there were feelings. So many feelings. They filled the room, carried by that brilliant voice. Every single person at First Avenue was experiencing something overwhelming thanks to Angel Olsen. As she sings in “Not Gonna Kill You”: however painful let it break down all of me/’Til I am nothing else but the feeling.
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Angel Olsen at First Avenue, Minneapolis (02 October 2017) photo: Amy
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