Photos courtesy of megan robertson with edits from sadie lookabaugh
On a chilly November evening in the Bay Area, I made my way to the nearly 100-year-old Fox Theater in Oakland, California, to see none other than one of the founding mothers of the indie pop/rock genre: Lucy Dacus.
Lucy Dacus comes out of the 2010s indie music scene of Richmond, Virginia. “I Don’t Want to Be Funny Anymore” — with its heart wrenching lyrics of identity crisis paired with rock instrumentation — is what garnered the singer/songwriter acclaim in 2016; the song has more than 21 million streams on Spotify alone. Today, six years later, Dacus has more than 1.5 million monthly listeners solely on Spotify. She co-founded the musical group boygenius with indie legends Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, which in recent years has gathered further success for the entire group. In addition to her collaboration with numerous successful musicians, Dacus has played the Newport Folk Festival, collaborated with Fender and has had one of her long form music videos honored at Tribeca Film Festival.
“Home Video” is Dacus’ third studio album, one that is admittedly more personal than the two prior. “I realized that I couldn’t hide behind generalizations or fiction anymore,” Dacus said in her Spotify artists’ statement. The album works in specific, direct stories and emotions, a musical exploration of her own 27 years of existence on this planet — much akin to Joni Mitchell’s foundational lyricism in “Blue.”
Walking into the venue, I couldn’t help but notice the density of the crowd. I should have known what to expect, since I saw online that the show was nearly sold out. However, I don’t think that anything can prepare you for being shoulder to shoulder with 3,000 amazing people who love Lucy Dacus. This was the ninth stop and second iteration of the artist’s “Home Video” North American tour. In the two years since this album has been released, Dacus and her band have played 65 shows over 16 months.
I was immersed in the grandeur of the Fox’s 1928 architecture and the energy at the venue was cathartic. People came for the music, certainly, but parts of the evening turned more towards a therapy session or a show-and-tell. The stage featured ruffled fabric, centralizing on projections on a screen of Dacus’ own childhood home videos. I heard fans in the crowd talking about how cute Dacus looked, or how it reminded them of a similar childhood memory.
Contributing to the energy at the venue was Dacus’ opener, Haley Heynderickx. I was enthralled by Heynderickx. The content of her lyrics is similar to Dacus, as Heynderickx reflects on God, nature, love and harmful fabricated societal systems. The Portland based artist seems to me a combination of Joan Baez, Nirvana and Buffy Sanite-Marie.
Before Dacus even stepped foot on stage, it was clear what kind of a person she was. She kept encouraging the crowd to wear their face masks in pre-recorded messages that played in the break between sets, and right before her entrance, she brought out a community leader of the Lisjan (Ohlone) tribe in Oakland to give a land acknowledgement. Dacus did this in every community along the tour(s), ultimately raising $35,540.98 for 17 different Indigenous organizations.
“Hot and Heavy” was the first song she played, a song that feels like it would be playing in a coming of age movie. Its instrumentation is inherently nostalgic. This song is also a crowd favorite, with more than 18 million streams on Spotify. The feel of the song, coupled with the special place it has for so many, made for a fun introduction to Dacus’ set.
Paying tribute to her influences, Dacus performed her released covers of both Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” and Cher’s “Believe,” which energized some in the crowd who didn’t know Dacus as well. The rest of the concert consisted of the 11 songs off of “Home Video,” plus a number of her most popular songs off of earlier albums. Dacus spoke to the crowd frequently and conversationally. She spoke about the regard in which she holds Oakland — “It was the first venue I ever sold out,” she said, referring to her “Historian” tour in 2018 — and later got sentimental, saying that she sent her dad a photo of the empty venue earlier in the day.
“Pop Quiz!” she yelled between two songs. “Who’s gay?” she asked a cheering crowd before playing her “Kissing Lessons” which has rightfully become a queer anthem.
The highlight of Dacus’ concert, for me, had to be her performance of her most popular song, “Night Shift.” With more than 57 million streams on Spotify alone, it seemed as if my eardrums may have bursted with how loud the crowd sang every word throughout the nearly seven minute song. The strong bassline and emotional lyrics of a relationship ending were cathartic for so many.
Dacus ended the night with an unreleased song, where she asked everyone to put away their phones, so as not to release it early. I can’t share much, but I will say that the tender, instrumental song covered the audience in a sense of vulnerability and intimacy that has been hard to come by at many concerts I’ve seen.
Lucy Dacus is a true force right now in the music industry. Not only is she an excellent songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, but she is vulnerable, truthful, emotional and aware of the political and societal nature within which she exists. I cannot wait to see what is next for her!
Follow Lucy @lucydacus on Instagram for the most recent updates and listen to “Home Video” wherever you find your music.