In 2008, The Weepies released their fantastic third album Hideaway, while also celebrating the birth of their son, Theo. This addition to the Talan/Tannen family presented a bit of a predicament: should the Weepies continue their touring tradition and hit the road to support the album (they played for 1.5 years behind 2006’s Say I Am You) or stay at home and raise their son? The band chose the latter, but did not recede completely from the limelight. “All This Beauty,” the closing track on the album was used prominently in the Sex and the City soundtrack, Grey’s Anatomy once again used their songs; but perhaps the most significant placement was “Can’t Go Back Now” in a campaign video for Barack Obama. Still, this prolonged absence from the road has made fans anxious for a return, and on their expansive fall tour, The Weepies do not disappoint.
The material for the 90 minute set came from all three albums fairly equally, yet unfortunately omitted any of the tracks from Happiness, their debut record. Still, for most fans this was the first time hearing two-thirds of that material—really anything written and released post-2007. They opened with the amazing track, “Please Speak Well of Me,” which featured upright bass, Steve on guitar and band members slapping their thighs as percussion. It was simple, quiet and calm, and with Deb Talan’s voice as the focus point, the band announced their return in the best of ways.
While The Weepies’ touring band is quite large (in addition to Steve and Deb they have a drummer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and keyboardist), the sound was never distorted, overly loud or egregious. It was apparent that they worked hard in soundcheck to perfect the levels of everyone’s instrument, all the while not becoming overbearing and drowning out Deb and Steve’s vocals. One thing that was pleasantly surprising was how much more mature Steve’s vocals have become in the past few years. On many live recordings from 2004-2006, he sounds tinny, thin and whiny; however, at the Great American Music Hall, his harmonies blended seamlessly when Deb took melody, and when he led songs there was a richness and depth to his voice that I was not expecting. Deb’s voice has always been one of her strongest suits (as well as her most idiosyncratic trait), bringing large audiences to her solo folk shows in Boston ten years ago and sparking initial interest in the Weepies. Even she has grown immensely in the control and shaping of that instrument, and listening to her take chances with phrasing, alternate harmonies and major jumps in pitch was rapturous. While the Weepies’ sound has not necessarily grown significantly, the conviction and power they have over their voices, instruments and lyric writing certainly has.
Steve and Deb commanded the stage with their humor as well as their music-making. Steve’s introduction to “Riga Girls” as coming from a porn spam email had the audience in stitches, and Deb’s banter with members shouting “I love you” and other such proclamations was particularly endearing. They made you really want to have them as your best friends—the ones whose house you go to and have a little more wine than you should and end up telling great stories by the waning sunset. Their approachability is definitely a key to their success, and it is nice to see that despite the major label endorsement and fame that has come in the past five years, Deb Talan and Steve Tannen are still the head-over-heels smitten couple that made (and make) the Weepies so special, friendly and intimate.
They chose judiciously and wisely from their new album, playing singles “I Was Made for Sunny Days” and “Be My Thrill,” as well as standout tracks “Hard to Please” and “Hope Tomorrow.” Unfortunately, the album is not their best effort, but is still a solid Weepies pop album. “Not a Lullaby” was used as the main set closer, and while it’s a perfectly fine song, it’s nothing special and seemed a bit lackluster.
Songs from “Say I Am You” were met with wild applause, with “Nobody Knows Me at All” turning into a giant sing-a-long. Steve even turned his microphone toward the audience and shared Deb’s. It was a charming moment during a completely engaging evening (and the audience, thankfully, sang very much on pitch!). Sadly, they did not perform “Take it From Me,” one of their best singles to date, but their new renditions of “Painting by Chagall,” “Citywide Rodeo” “Gotta Have You” and “World Spins Madly On” were delicious and just right.
Other than “Nobody Knows Me at All,” perhaps the most standout of all the performances was 2008’s “Antartica.” The song sounds poppy and catchy on the surface, but when you dig into the layers of meaning in the lyrics, one realizes the deep melancholy and desperation that exist below. They executed it perfectly, and Talan’s voice was ideally poignant in her delivery. They also covered the major singles from the record “Can’t Go Back Now,” “Orbiting” and “Hideaway,” while also playing “Little Bird” and “Just Blue”—two of their most underrated but strongest tracks.
In a move that has been so far unheard of for this tour, the band played two encores after their main set at the Great American Music Hall. It was apparent that they were having a great time, and they spoke about wanting to come back soon to San Francisco. While it would have been great to have heard them close with Steve’s solo track “San Francisco” (how topical?!), it was not meant to be.
We’ll have to wait a couple of more months for the first leg of the “Be My Thrill” tour to end, but hopefully Steve and Deb will be buoyed by the tremendous outpouring of support that they’ll soon schedule another trip along the coasts. This show sold out incredibly quickly, so with any luck they’ll be back again, with a sunny vengeance.
Setlist (Not in order):
Please Speak Well of Me
Can’t Go Back Now
Hideaway
I Was Made for Sunny Days
Gotta Have You
Orbiting
Riga Girls
Painting By Chagall
Hard to Please
Be My Thrill
Citywide Rodeo
Sing Me To Sleep (Deb + Steve solo)
Antarctica
World Spins Madly On
Just Blue
Not a Lullaby
Encore 1:
Nobody Knows Me at All
Hope Tomorrow
Encore 2:
Little Bird
