Julia Holter Concert Review

By Samuel Carliner

On Friday, February 22 I saw Julia Holter at Warsaw. This was a PopGun presents show. Warsaw was one of the most intimate venues I’ve been to which was a great setting for the type of music Julia Holter makes. The opener was Jessica Moss who set the tone by playing the violin over unique instrumentals. She closed with a song that was more than twenty minutes long and began with the sound of wolves howling, a choice that might rub some people the wrong way, but for a Julia Holter concert, it felt like the perfect way to get excited about the main event.

I loved Julia Holter’s 2018 album “Aviary” when it came out, but words can’t describe how much better it sounds live. The set began with Julia Holter nonchalantly strolling onto the stage in a shiny robe. She played her song In The Gardens’ Muteness by herself on her keyboard before a band of six other musicians accompanied her for most of the remaining songs. She looked like she was having the time of her life and she sounded incredible. My favorite part of the show was watching her toss her head around and beam with joy as she chirped and squealed the words to Les Jeux to You. While she mostly stuck to songs from “Aviary,” she made sure to sprinkle in songs from her 2015 album “Have You in My Wilderness.” The main set ended with I Shall Love 2 and Julia took the opportunity belt every line. This would have been a satisfying ending to the night on its own, but I can’t complain about the encore in which she played I Shall Love 1 and Betsy on the Roof. The show ran close to midnight and exceeded my expectations.