Article + Photos by Anthony Bauer
Earlier this year Devendra Banhart released his stunning 10th studio album Ma (via Nonsuch Records) that is most definitely one of 2019’s criminally underrated albums. The album is one of Banhart’s best in years and is an absolutely incredible collection of songs from start to finish that only he could pull off. On a cool, crisp early December evening we were there to witness Banhart and his band return to New York City for a headlining gig at Brooklyn Steel that was one of the best surprises of the year.
Crowds at concerts are a fickle thing in that they are hit or miss sometimes, but this was definitely one of the better crowds I’ve been in all year. There were no bad vibes in the room whatsoever, and everyone was just in such a fantastic mood the entire night. The minute Banhart took to the stage, the energy inside the venue exploded to astonishing levels. The amount of positivity and happiness from not only the crowd but even the band is just another reason why going to see live music is so important. For those few hours of the show, nothing else matters but you and the music you are experiencing and everyone else in that room elevated that feeling tenfold.
Speaking of positive vibes, something else unexpected happened during song 3 where Banhart started smirking and announced a special guest was there… Jello Man. I feel foolish for not even knowing who Jello Man is, but after some digging, I’ve come to learn that Jello Man is something of a legend within the music industry, and he is also none other than Kurt Vile’s brother. Hailing from Philly and even the center of an upcoming documentary, Jello Man pops into your favorites artists show (or your favorite festival) across the country by making an insane amount of jello shots and proceeding to slingshot them into the crowd from the stage. On this night, he was in rare form by not only slinging jello shots from the stage into the crowd, but he then made his way to the front of the crowd via the photo pit and proceeded to crowd surf and sling jello shots not only into the back of the crowd, but upstairs onto the balcony. If that wasn’t enough, I turned around for a second to continue taking photos of the band when an explosion of cheers erupted from behind me, and I turned around to witness Jello Man mid-headstand while crowd surfing. It was absolutely incredible and made the night that much more amazing. There honestly wasn’t a person inside that venue without a massive grin on their face. Again, live music to the rescue.
While favoring newer songs off Ma, Banhart’s set included everything you wanted to hear as well as some classic fan-favorites. Standouts from the set were “Carolina,” “Love Song,” an incredible disco-ball drenched rendition of “Fig in Leather” and usual stunning set-closer, “Carmensita.” During “Fig in Leather” and “Carmensita” I don’t think there was a person inside the venue that wasn’t dancing, moving and grooving to the songs. We also got a few solo acoustic songs in the middle of the set with the crowd cheering… well, screaming requests at Banhart which he replied back with “not yet…” or “we already played that” which was funny to see.
This show was one of those shows that I’ll be buzzing about for some time with every listen to Banhart’s latest album. The album is just another impressive entry into his ever-expanding catalog and his live show was nothing short of amazing. We hope Banhart comes back to New York City again soon, as getting to experience this show was almost cathartic and therapeutic to the insanity that is our current reality (…outside of music, of course…). Something tells me he’ll be back next year, and let’s hope its a SummerStage show as this would be the perfect mid-summer evening set.
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