Lucy Dacus: Poetic Storytelling and Raw Vulnerability, Live at the Anthem

As a massive crowd of people waits patiently at the Anthem for the show to start, I catch a fleeting glimpse of someone in the front row holding up their phone for the people behind them to see, reading: CHEER IF UR GAY! Almost instantaneously, an overwhelming wave of sound echoes throughout the venue, from clapping and cheering to laughter. That’s exactly the vibe I expected from a Lucy Dacus show.

In a homecoming show of sorts, Lucy Dacus, currently one of the most respected indie songwriters, took the stage at the Anthem in Washington, D.C. on April 18 with a little help from her friends, captivating the audience with her staggeringly intellectual and beautifully vulnerable lyricism, trademark hazy indie rock sound, and enchantingly soft and dreamy vocals.

jasmine.4.t, the alter ego of British indie rock musician Jasmine Cruickshank, opens up the night with a vulnerably, almost painfully raw, yet deeply empowering performance. A true whirlwind of emotions, Jasmine’s music, inspired by indie folk and pop, is mostly introspective and reflective, exploring her experiences with being sexually assaulted, being trans, and with PTSD. She boldly calls out the U.K. Supreme Court for its recent ruling declaring trans women as not women; in her song ‘Woman,’ she sings, ‘You say it’s hard when you; Don’t have the language; It's only hard to talk to people like you; ’Cause I know who I am; And I understand; That I am in my soul a woman.’ Don’t go see her if you hate crying your eyes out; I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.

Katie Gavin, the lead singer of the iconic queer band MUNA, takes the stage after Jasmine and plays some songs off her recent debut album, ‘What A Relief.’ Her solo music, more folk-influenced and more focused on lyricism, differs quite a bit from her work with MUNA; Gavin explores mother-daughter relationships, generational trauma, addiction, and even the loss of a pet. She even plays a song that’s not on her setlist per enthusiastic audience request, immediately joking that she was forced into playing it. Predictably, there is a lot of crossover between Lucy Dacus and MUNA fans; the audience seems to know every word to every song Gavin sings, which is rare for an opening act. (Check out our review of Katie’s DC show back in December.)

Shortly after Katie’s set comes to an end, the first song off ‘Forever Is A Feeling,’ mystical instrumental piano number ‘Calliope Prelude,’ softly echoes throughout the venue, and Lucy’s band appears onstage in a slightly eerie, yet enchantingly mesmerizing processional, floating to their places behind their respective instruments, which are all concealed under cream-colored sheets.

Greeted with waves of thunderous applause and cheering, Dacus appears illuminated by soft stage lights, dressed in trousers and a sweater layered over a white collared shirt, completed with her signature red lip. Waving to the audience and beaming, she kicks off the evening with the lyrically tragic but melodically bright ‘Hot and Heavy,’ a song off her fourth album, ‘Home Video,’ setting a simultaneously jovial and vulnerable tone for the show. 

Dacus’ ethereal musicality and whimsical creativity shine brightly the entire evening; she sings each carefully crafted word as if she is contemplating their sound and testing their weight, pulling relentlessly on the audience’s heartstrings, the air in the room heavy with emotion. 

‘Forever Is A Feeling’ primarily explores the malleable nature of the line between friendship and romance, as well as how valuable and rare it is to be truly, deeply, and rawly seen. Dacus gently leads her audience on a vulnerably intimate musical journey detailing her experiences growing up queer, loving her friends, and falling in love with one of them. A few of Dacus’ older songs off her previous projects get their chance to shine; the audience sings every single word of contemplative queer anthem ‘Triple Dog Dare,’ sonically melancholy and reflective ‘Partner in Crime,’ and one of her first songs, the introspective and spikey guitar-supported track ‘I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore.’ In a bit of a surprise move, Dacus also performs ‘True Blue,’ a song off ‘The Record,’ the Grammy-winning album she wrote with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker under the supergroup boygenius.

My biggest and perhaps most surprising standout of the evening is ‘Most Wanted Man.’ The classically indie folk track didn’t immediately jump out at me upon listening to ‘Forever Is A Feeling,’ but witnessing Dacus perform it live dramatically impacted how I now listen to the song. 

Throughout the song, Dacus reflects on the depth of the love she holds for her significant other, relishing in the quiet moments and even thanking a God she no longer believes in for giving her this person, craving just a bit of time so she can ‘write the book on you.’ At the very end, she sings, ‘If you let me write the book, open the hood and take a look; I promise anything you give to me is something I will keep; We can burn it when it’s done, soot and cinder in the sun; Nothing left for anyone to read and weep.’ 

The concept of being so inspired by your person and the love you share that you want to write a book is nothing new. What really got to me was the fact that all Dacus wants to do is just that: write the book. She wants to write it purely to write it, to express herself, only if her partner lets her. Not because she wants to tell the world, not because she wants to write more music. She wants to write it and then burn it so there’s nothing left for anyone to read. 

Something about this kind of love and this desire to write for the sake of writing made a strong emotional impact on me. I, too, often turn to writing to express and process my emotions, but I have never written something without the intention of keeping it. The thought of Dacus wanting to spend her time writing an entire book about this great love only to set it all on fire struck me deeply, and it’s still something that chokes me up whenever I hear the song. I can’t relate to that, but maybe one day I will.

The evening ends with ‘Night Shift,’ a deeply introspective post-breakup anthem laced with dramatic electric guitar off Dacus’ third album, ‘Historian.’ I still get chills listening to this song; it’s truly one of the greatest live performances I’ve ever seen, and you will never fully understand the emotional impact and depth of the song until you’ve stood in front of Dacus herself and watched her pour her whole heart and soul into performing it. The audience almost completely drowns out the sound of Dacus’ voice as she sings the lyrics.

Lucy Dacus isn’t just the tall one from boygenius. She’s truly one of the greatest lyricists of our time. Her musical prowess and literary talents (yes, LITERARY; she is an AUTHOR) swirl together beautifully into a rich and staggeringly impressive discography. I’ve revered Dacus and her writing skills for so incredibly long, and this night exceeded every expectation I had. Though her demeanor may be quiet and calming, Dacus is a powerhouse performer capable of playing with her audience’s emotions as deftly as she strums the guitar she holds in her hands. She puts on one of the best concerts I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending, and I literally can’t stop telling everyone I know about how incredible and inspirational she is. Lucy Dacus writes music for people who are told their whole lives that they think and feel too much, too big, or too deeply. And she doesn’t just see them, she’s one of them. That’s what makes her so great.

The European leg of Lucy Dacus ‘Forever Is A Feeling’ tour starts today. Listen to her new album and discography here.

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WORDS ALLYSON PARK