By: Emil Jraissati
Friday night had us dreaming. Under a wash of blue lights and haze, Faye Webster sang to a sold out crowd at 713 Music Hall in Houston, Texas. The Underdressed at the Symphony Tour celebrated her latest album of the same name and delivered a kitschy, angsty collection of her hits and deep cuts with a crowd that sang every word right back to her.
After an intimate opening act by Mei Ehara, a Japanese singer-songwriter, Faye Webster took to the stage surrounded by industrial-size washing machines that functioned as lighting with a simulated clothing rack on top. So, we’re at the local laundromat, I guess? In the center a plain white t-shirt was projected onto the screen and as the lights dimmed, and to my surprise, a minion with Faye’s haircut popped up on the t-shirt. Yes, you read that right, a minion–the little yellow guys in blue overalls… After the minion delivered a few lines of "But Not Kiss" in its native language, Faye emerged with her guitar and began singing, “I want to sleep in your arms / But not kiss,” with the crowd screaming along.
What’s better than minions? A bubble machine. During "Right Side of My Neck", bubbles rained down on the audience as the stage glowed amber with Faye singing, “The right side of my neck still smells like you.” Soft and sweet, like one of those memories that hits you when you smell something familiar. Finally addressing the crowd directly, she shouted “What’s up, Houston?” and was met with a deafening roar from the packed house of angsty teenagers. Speaking of angsty, she sang Cheers and had the crowd sing the entire second verse for her. The whole place felt so alive.
During "In A Good Way" there was a beautiful acoustic guitar solo by one of the band members. The whole show flowed effortlessly from grungy to sentimental to playful. She slowed things down with "Lifetime" followed by "Tttttime" (I think she has a thing for time?) Which, now that I think about it, setting the show in a laundromat or dry cleaner’s really does evoke the feeling of being in a liminal space, existing somewhere in which time behaves differently.
As she finished her last song, the crowd began chanting “Faye!” repeatedly, begging for one more song. The only option left was her hit song "Kingston", which began with the lyrics “The day that I met you I started dreaming” followed by the onset of the guitar and drums. As concert-goers began filing out, many stayed to sing along every word of this dreamy song.
And just like that, the dream was over. Everyone snapped back to reality and swayed as they left the venue, smiling and hugging each other. The Underdressed at the Symphony Tour heads across North America and Europe over the next few months. Be sure to check it out.
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