Photo credit: Kelsea McCulloch
Last time Angel Olsen swung through town for a headlining show at the Pabst Theater, she didn’t try all that hard. The titanic-voiced singer-songwriter was in between albums, a few months away from releasing her latest, last fall’s My Woman, and she almost seemed to be resting up for the main event. Later that year, she’d be tireless plugging the new record with a formal tour, but, backed by a streamlined three-piece band that night, she wasn’t trying to sell anything. It was about as low-stakes as a concert can get.
If that performance showed how powerful she can be even when she’s phoning it in, Olsen’s return to the Pabst Theater last Sunday night showed what she’s capable of when she puts in a little effort. She’ll probably never be the kind of live artist who pulls out all the stops—she’s far too casual a performer, and she resists being boxed into any given person on stage—but where her last Milwaukee show was a jeans and T-shirt affair, Sunday’s performance had a hint of ceremony to it. Olsen took the stage dressed as if prepared for a glamorous 1960s photo shoot, her colorful ensemble standing out against a five-piece backing band in matching suits and bolo ties. Among that band was full-piped backup singer Heather McEntire, on loan from the night’s openers, Mount Moriah.
If Olsen seemed in a better mood Sunday night than she did last time around—gigglier, more playful, generally awake—perhaps it’s in part because her new songs are such a blast. After a few albums of sorrowful folk and brooding twang, Olsen revealed her full range on My Woman, bouncing between sock-hop serenades, British invasion throwbacks, grungy recriminations and scuzzy, Velvet Underground-style rockers—some delivered with a smile, many more delivered with a scowl or sneer. That made for a mighty dynamic setlist. She frontloaded the show with her catchiest tunes, including the barbed country number “Hi-Five” and the deliriously fierce “Shut Up Kiss Me,” all slathered with attitude (her poppiest tunes tend to be almost contemptuously sarcastic). She saved the slow-burners for last; even stacking them each one after another didn’t dampen their impact. It would have taken hours before the thrill of hearing a voice that dazzling wore off.
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