Review: Underdressed at the Symphony Tour
Faye Webster hit the Fox Theatre stage in her hometown of Atlanta on Sept. 13 with band members pedal steel and guitarist Matt ‘Pistol’ Stoessel, bassist Noor Khan, drummer Charles LaMont and Annie Leeth on keys. Opening with “But Not Kiss,” colored lights, washing machines on platforms behind the band members and clothing racks surrounded her and the band.
Although her performance for the first few songs seemed timid she quickly grew comfortable on the stage, adding more energy into each song. After the first two songs, Webster played some of her more well known songs such as “Right Side of my Neck” and “A Dream with a Baseball Player.” The crowd’s energy picked up with the songs. Webster’s high pitched voice and the band’s lively performance had the audience waving their hands as the band pointed the microphone at the crowd and used interactive visuals.
An old-school inspired video game visual titled “Faye Webster’s singsongforme” illuminated the back of the stage, presenting the crowd with a choice between multiple songs including “Sometimes,” “Kind Of,” “Feeling Good” and “Lego Ring.” Webster and her band judged which one to perform based on the crowd’s cheering. The nostalgic video game-like graphic was creative and a style many artists don’t play into. “Lego Ring” won the vote and Webster brought out Lil’ Yachty, an Atlanta local, to sing backing vocals and rap his own verse he originally brought to the end of the studio recording.
Webster’s performance of “Jonny” was a clear fan favorite. It also appeared to be one of Webster’s favorites to perform, made evident by her high pitched vocals, movement around the stage and leaving some lines up to the audience to sing. With her vocals being exaggerated and dragged on during certain lyrics, the calmer studio recording is preferably smoother than her live rendition.
Webster wrapped up the setlist with “He Loves Me Yeah!” before exiting the stage for a brief moment. For her encore, Webster returned with long time best friend and special guest Nuna for introductions. She then went on to sing “Feeling Good Today” which the crowd enjoyed despite the song’s obscurity. She ended her performance with “Kingston,” her second most popular song, according to Spotify, and the clear reason some fans were there that night. Hearing the song live felt like a familiar listening experience being one of the only songs she didn’t noticeably change for her live performance.
During “Tttime,” a lesser known song that not many people knew, there was less noise from the crowd which made the listening experience more involved. Because of its lesser popularity there wasn’t a lot of expectation that it would be played that night. Just like “Kingston” there was little to no change in her vocals in comparison to her original version.
In comparison to the studio recordings there was a clear difference between the vocals in Webster’s live music. There was more emotion in the live version and emphasis on certain lyrics that I would’ve liked to hear more of. Hearing the songs on streaming platforms isn’t half of the experience of her live performance.
