By @amelia.moseman
Photos by @colekincart

The Sharon Van Etten I was first introduced to was just a girl and her guitar, warbling melodies backed by an acoustic playing the part of four instruments (see: Pickathon and Tiny Desk) singing still of love and hopes and dreams. The Sharon that took the stage Friday night at the Salt Shed carried the same old weirdness but the added confidence and conviction of a veteran performer, not to mention the support of an entire band. Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, her seventh studio album, is notably a departure in process, and hence in sound, but still carries Van Etten’s signature vocals and candor.

Taking the stage fitted in all black and leather, dark hair piled atop her head, Van Etten was striking. She commanded the stage in a jerky but authentic way, simultaneously roping in her band mates and feeding off them. They shared subtle smiles and glances, hugs and dances, that broke up the intensity Van Etten brings to the stage.

I’ll admit I was there for Van Etten solely, but it quickly became clear there is no Sharon Van Etten without the Attachment Theory. The album was written in collaboration with all the members of the band: Sharon Van Etten, Devra Hoff (bass, vocals), Jorge Balbi (drums), and Teeny Lieberson (synthesizer, piano, vocals). Throughout the night, Van Etten expressed overwhelming gratitude for the band, her “chosen family of the road”.

Lead singers pursue solo careers all the time but it’s not often you see the reverse. A successful solo artist joins a band, relinquishing creative freedom and rights in favor of the complex dynamics and tensions of collaboration. Who would do that? Someone who spent much of their life on the road, hopping from place to place, figuring things out on their own. Someone who understands the value of community, the value of the give and take. Someone who has felt deep loneliness, darkness and also great support and joy. Sharon Van Etten, the confessional soft rock star, friend, wife, and mother would do that.

Friday’s setlist ran through the majority of the new album as expected, with a few promised “old ones” sprinkled in. “Live Forever”, a synthy, 80s-esque dark pop song opened the show, showcasing the musicality of each member of the band and Van Etten’s total control of vocals and performance. “Afterlife” followed, another synthy favorite off the album, and “Idiot Box”, a catchy guitar-centric call to action to disconnect from the internet.

The sounds of these new songs stray further from earlier acoustic work but aren’t all that different from her 2019 album “Remind Me Tomorrow”, emphasizing production and experimentation over a more classical output.

The second half of the set list featured more of Van Etten’s solo work but with Attachment Theory spin. Teeny Lieberson’s sultry vocals complimented Van Etten’s on “No One’s Easy to Love” and “Anything” before the band played an upbeat rendition of “Every Time the Sun Comes Up”.

A David Lynch tribute with “Tarifa” (featured on Twin Peaks) and the Jersey angst classic “Seventeen” rounded out the night before the final song and encore.

I’ve found my experience at shows is just as much about where I’m coming from as the actual performance. Music forces you to acknowledge where you’re at, because it meets you right there. “I Want You Here”, the final song on the album and of the main set, met me at the crossroads of exhaustion, worry, aimlessness, and hope. Opening with a steady chant-like drumbeat, the song builds in layers of synth and electric guitars backtracking the heavy lyrics.

It’s yearning, it’s triumphant, and it’s real. It’s despairing and hopeful. It’s enough to reduce a grown woman (especially one who just graduated college) to tears.

In a sentimental confession between performances, Van Etten revealed how much it meant to be in Chicago, a place she’s been traveling to for the last 15 years, shouting out local venues the likes of Schubas, Empty Bottle, Lincoln Hall: “I feel like I grew up with you all”. Lucky is Chicago to bear witness to the growth of such an artist, one whose authenticity and talent continues to be a guide and a soundtrack to my own growing-up. Until next time, Sharon!

All photos taken by Cole Kincart. Please email wiit@iit.edu for any inquiries on usage.