Back in April 2017, my friend and I had missed out on seeing one of our favorite musicians, Julien Baker, play in Ithaca, NY as an opener for The Decemberists, so we had driven all the way to Stage AE in Pittsburgh, PA to see her instead. You can imagine how elated we were that she was going to return to Ithaca this year at the Hangar Theatre, so we bought our tickets right away so we wouldn't miss her headlining the show. Much to my delight, she was being opened by Tancred, a shoe gaze-style band led by Jess Abbott. Jess used to be part of Now, Now, a three-piece band with two rockin' lady guitarists, who I first saw five years ago at The Bug Jar in Rochester, NY. Needless to say, I was looking forward to seeing this female-powered concert earlier this month!
My friend and I decided to make a day of heading to Ithaca and to throw in a spot to get dinner, so we researched some of the most interesting restaurants in Ithaca to choose from. The three we decided between were: AGAVA, a farm-to-table Latin food restaurant; Moosewood, a vegan and vegetarian restaurant; or Ithaca Beer Co., a brewery with highly-recommended pub-style food. We were leaning toward Moosewood, since we were fans of The Red Fern and The Owl House here in Rochester, but at the last minute we decided we were craving the more Spanish feel of AGAVA. Originally craving tacos, we ended up being drawn to other unique dishes on AGAVA's wide variety of menu items.
My friend ordered a dish called "The Rub", which was Atlantic salmon with with mashed sweet potatoes, grilled pineapple, and a salsa with avocado and tomatillo. I'm partial to trying different types of gourmet cheeseburgers when I get the chance, and AGAVA had one that caught my eye. The AGAVA burger was made with local organic grass-fed beef, an aged cheddar cheese, fried onions, and a "secret sauce". Honestly, whenever I see that a restaurant has a "secret sauce", I am colored intrigued. The burger came with either a side of fries or a salad - and I had forgotten to mention my preference when my order came out. Embarrassingly, I asked the waitress if I could swap the fries for a salad instead and she told me not to worry and brought out the side salad for me to have with my meal, which was a deliciously cute arugula salad with a lemony-tasting dressing that really hit the spot.
After our meal, we made our way to The Hangar Theatre just down the road from AGAVA. The theatre from the outside looked super cool as it was located in an old army park inside of an airplane hangar! Strangely, it was a seated event, but we bought our tickets early so we were able to snag front row seats. As we entered, I looked to my left to see Jess from Tancred right at the merch tables! I was definitely starstruck, as always, and I told my friend that I barely remembered what I said. What I do remember is that I told her I saw her in Now, Now and how she inspired me to start my own girl group in college. She also saw my tee shirt which was sporting, of course, Now, Now. I'm glad she noticed because I guess I had been too gobsmacked to remember to show that I was wearing it. Luckily I did remember to ask her for a photo and she was very happy to take one with me!
After everyone took their seats, the concert started. Tancred was really wonderful, playing some of my current favorite jams including "Bed Case" and "Pens". Surprisingly, she wasn't playing her traditional Fender Telecasters which I told her I admired. However, she did pack a powerful punch with her usual wide array of guitar pedals which added awesome reverb and drive to her playing in all the right moments. I enjoyed seeing her in the forefront as opposed to when she was sharing the spotlight in Now, Now. I feel like her on-stage character has a greater presence - moody, brooding, and in-charge in a great way. Her style of clothes hasn't changed much, which is one of the things I liked best about her. Her style is a classic and cool, hovering between schoolgirl and menswear, including her almost signature-esque Buddy Holly specs.
After Jess and the rest of Tancred finished their set, Julien Baker took the stage. Throughout her set, she was mainly solo with just her vocals, guitar, piano, synth, and a loop pedal. She sang crowd favorites such as "Funeral Pyre" and "Sprained Ankle". Many of us were too timid to sing along, but instead hummed or quietly mouthed the lyrics as the set was more like a slam poetry reading with such fervor and spite echoing from Julien's artful lyric talent. She had more time to talk in between the songs and talk about what each song meant, which was super nice. I especially appreciated her honesty which definitely gave me more insight into her songwriting. Her piano was really cool, actually, as it was an upright with a paper cutout-type front and lit from behind to give it an eerie glow as she sang in the middle of the hall.
What was really special was when she introduced a violinist, Camille Faulkner, to come onstage with her to play out the second half of her set. Camille's pizzicato during the second to last song, "Hurt Less", is ultimately the tune that made me tear up. You can hear the two play the tune on their recent return visit to NPR's Tiny Desk Concert - Julien's first visit having reached over two million views alone. Not a surprise for anyone, Julien played her final song which was none other than "Something". This time, nobody held back and all of us sang quietly along. It's always such a cool moment when you're surrounded by others who dig the same musical moment in time together - it's as if we all shared a secret memory together that only we'll remember. Thank you for reading my restaurant and concert review, keep an eye out for more articles like this by following my Twitter or my Instagram for post updates!
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