Concert Review: Yumi Zouma @ Black Cat (11/3/23)

Yumi Zouma (Photo Credit: Aaron Lee and Alex Evans)

Yumi Zouma returned to their favorite haunt in DC, the Black Cat, on November 3rd to give the excited concert goers an evening of glorious dream pop.

This was the penultimate show of their 2023 North American tour. And DC showed up. In fact, many people from the huge crowd were clearly long-time fans, as a solid cheer rose when the band talked about previous shows in DC. We should temper the term ‘long-time’, since Yumi Zouma only started in 2014, but with what we all went though the last few years, it feels like nine years is forever. Besides, who wants to remember a time before New Zealand’s best dream pop band entered our hearts and minds?

After a unique performance by opener Chelsea Jade (she often sang while moving about the dance floor or earnestly serenading individual patrons at the bar or seated by the wall), Yumi Zouma slipped onstage amidst the soothing sounds of the instrumental “Lie Like You Want Me Back”, and then performed “KPR”, a new single they recorded in Japan while touring. “KPR” speaks to avoiding someone that you did so much for, but they have turned away despite all your efforts.

At the Cat, the band was comprised of Christie Simpson (vocals, keyboards), Josh Burgess (vocals, guitar, bass, etc.), and Olivia Campion (pulling double duties on drums and guitar). Charlie Ryder (guitar, bass, keyboards, etc.) is also part of the band, but was not present for this show. They are not touring for a new album per se, but their last album, Present Tense (via Polyvinyl), came out in 2022. In total, they performed 16 songs, giving us a sampling from three of their four albums and three EPs, skipping only their debut album, Yoncalla. They also played three new singles, all which will be part of their upcoming fourth EP, which has yet to be named.

Yumi Zouma has an ethereal, addictive sound that permeates all of their songs. When you hear one, it puts you in a mood. A feel good mood, even when the poetic message of the lyrics is about the pain of loss from a relationship (a common thread). The individual notes swirl and disperse above like tiny clouds, as you seem to float in a sea made of honey. And you don’t want their dream pop to fade away, but unfortunately all good shows end. You just need to find a way to make it last until their next show, so I recommend buying all four of their albums, and their EPs too.

As they performed, the stage was simply instruments and Christie added a little touch by decorating the microphone stands with Christmas lights. It was the backdrop that was most visually interesting, as live images of each band member were displayed onto the screen, next to the stylized version of the band’s name.

When they played the brand new “Kicking Up Daisies”, many of us heard it for the first time. It seems to speak to trying to figure out the purpose of life, while still fully going through the motions and feeling like an imposter.

At one point, Josh referenced their show at DC9 in 2020, held on the very day that DC shutdown (March 12, 2020) and the world changed. He said it was etched in his mind forever, as both a bizarre situation but also a special show. At least for the city of DC, it wouldn’t be for another year and a half before live concerts returned. And for Yumi Zouma, that was the last show they performed on that tour and for a good while after. They returned gloriously to DC in 2022.

The final new single was “be okay”. The song has some cool elements, like when the main vocals are whispered and an echo of those lyrics are shouted like someone in emotional pain. It also includes choice swear words that needed to be said. “be okay” was released only a few weeks ago, and Christie described the meaning as ‘about someone who broke my heart, an emotionally unavailable musician and a singer’.

I have a propensity to shift my loyalties to different songs they release and call them turn by turn my favorite, but I don’t think I’ve actually heard a Yumi Zouma song that I didn’t like. At the end of the main set, they played three songs from Present Tense, all great and don’t sleep on “Give It Hell”, but now my loyalty is to “Astral Projection”. It is about hope – to be with someone that’s not destined for you. It instantly makes you feel like your floating above the noise, above the chaos, to a place of pure peace. A place where the song never stops playing on repeat.

After “Give It Hell” closed out the main set, they returned to deliver a solid rendition of “In Camera”, which Christie joked ‘here’s a song you may know’.

As of now, I’ve witnessed every show Yumi Zouma has performed in DC (2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2023), so I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t continue that trend if they’re going to keep visiting DC on their tours. Sadly, they may not return for another year, so I have their albums ready to play forever in the background.

Setlist