“Hey 9:30 Club! This is genuinely one of my favorite places to play.” – Lauren Mayberry
Lauren Mayberry (lead vocalist of CHVRCHES fame) returned to the 9:30 Club on February 18th during her second solo tour, the Vicious Creature Tour.
Vicious Creature is also the name of her debut solo album released last year (via Island Records).
Lauren has visited DC often over the years with CHVRCHES, and I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the band perform live six times so far, including at the 2018 All Things Go Festival at Union Market and the 2016 Firefly Music Festival (held in Delaware). I also had the distinct privilege of attending Lauren’s first ever solo show, also held at the 9:30 Club on September 4, 2023. Then two days later, I caught her open for The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie at The Anthem. Maybe I’m a fan.
After that first solo concert in 2023, I remember thinking (despite a few minor hiccups with timing – she had just met and started playing with her backing band a few weeks prior) that here was someone that enjoyed their creative freedom and was excited to share it with everyone. All while still finding a way to be humbled by the 9:30 Club crowd’s positive reception to her new songs. My second thought was, let’s be honest, she can sing anything and it will be awesome. And I’m right about that.
Now a year and a half later, it’s clear she’s grown into this solo project and nothing can stop her. With her were two backing band members, Heather Nation on guitar and Marian Li-Pino on drums. Originally from Scotland, Lauren now lives in Los Angeles.
I enjoyed most of her new electropop songs live*, with a few standouts. She kept her set to a tight one hour, performing all 12 songs from Vicious Creature, and one cover. Her rendition of The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” is a worthy entry into the pantheon of great songs getting great covers. Its extended opening saw Lauren at the keyboard inside the glow of a spotlight while the world around her was dark. Her singing was subdued through the first chorus. Then she stood and the lights illuminated Heather and Marian’s explosive entry to the song.
Throughout the show Lauren wore a bright glittering hat which she referred to as a ‘sporty doily’ and a red t-shirt that proudly proclaimed, “I just want to say if you are trans and reading this, I love you and so do all my mates.”
After a robotic voice announced a chance to win a free signed setlist by texting to support a LGBQT cause, she kicked off the night with “Crocodile Tears”, a song about someone using tears as a form of manipulation.
I especially enjoyed her down tempo songs from the album, like “Anywhere but Dancing”. She introduced it as the lone acoustic guitar song on the album. It speaks to your partner no longer doing the things that were most special and meaningful, and now you feel alone and removed from an ending relationship. Despite the lyrical theme, its hauntingly beautiful aura confirmed it as my favorite song that night.
A couple songs later, another slow ballad caught my attention. For “Something On the Air”, Lauren pulled out a hybrid megaphone/flashlight and pointed the piercing light into the dark corners of the 9:30 Club. The prop is included in the lyrics ‘screaming through a red, a white, and a blue megaphone’. The song is about seeking happiness amidst the frustration of living in a sea of conspiracy theories. Apt. She shared with us some advice she got before the show, ‘For DC, my friend told me not to touch on politics, they already know.’ The crowd, which was close to full, chuckled because the truth hurts and we need to vent sometimes.
Another highlight, “Are You Awake?”, began with Lauren at the keyboard in silence before an atmospheric opening hushed the crowd. The song delves into being lonely and homesick, and trying to reconnect with the past to fill that void.
She ended the main set with “Sorry, Etc”, a punkish track that gave her the opportunity to throw the microphone stand across the stage. Something we all need to do now and then. I bet she enjoyed it.
Lauren returned for two songs in the encore. She described “Oh, Mother” as the most depressing song on the album, and “Sunday Best” as slightly cheerful.
If you’re a fan of CHVRCHES, definitely give Lauren’s new album a listen, and even if you’re not yet a fan, your future looks promising if you put Lauren on your playlist.
Setlist
- Crocodile Tears
- Change Shapes
- Mantra
- Shame
- Anywhere but Dancing
- Punch Drunk
- Something in the Air
- Are You Awake?
- Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve cover)
- A Work of Fiction
- Sorry, Etc
Encore
- Oh, Mother
- Sunday Best
* The only exception is I honestly didn’t care for the structure of her song “Change Shapes”, even though her singing was still sublime. No contradictions detected.
A DC Journey 