Review: Bleachers and Samia Put On an Exhilarating Show at an Apple Orchard
★★ BY Aaron Childree ★★
SHOWS FOR THE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES at Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards are held in a large field that slopes down toward the stage, with the orchards in the distance behind. The stage is framed by tall pine trees on one side, and on the other, you can see down to the valley below. It might even strike you as a smaller version of the farmland where the famous 1969 Woodstock festival took place. In fact, that festival was held just a few hours down the road.
The apple orchard was the site of the recent Bleachers and Samia show I attended. “I feel like we all met in a random field, and it’s amazing,” said Jack Antonoff, the lead singer of headlining act Bleachers (and a grammy-winning producer who has worked with many high-profile artists including Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Lorde). Even on a cloudy and cooler than expected June night, it was a beautiful setting for the concert. Both artists put on an excellent show, and the enjoyment they found in playing live for their fans was apparent throughout the night.
Samia opened the evening with a set of songs from her 2020 debut album, The Baby. After beginning with the moody “Pool,” she danced confidently across the stage while singing upbeat hits “Fit N Full” and “Big Wheel.”
Samia’s voice shined throughout the set. At times, she sang in a low, expressive tone, and at other moments, she would effortlessly climb into her higher register. Toward the end of “Triptych,” another standout from Samia’s debut album, all of the instruments dropped out. Samia and her band sang in mesmerizing three-part harmony before Samia took the final line alone. “I’ll be good to you,” she sang, drawing out the last word with a pitch-perfect vocal run.
The climax of the set came during “Honey,” a single from Samia’s sophomore album of the same name. “This song is about being very drunk for very many days in a row,” Samia said with a laugh as she introduced the song. As the upbeat track built to a crescendo, Samia backed off of the mic, and the crowd screamed the song’s mantra, “it’s all honey.” Even as the opening act, the artist clearly had lots of fans in attendance ready to sing every word.
Samia closed with the wistful “Is There Something in the Movies?” “You’ve got this and the movies and also my love/ You can have it all baby, I’m giving it up,” she sang, accompanied by a single guitar, as the sky began to darken behind her.
Then, it was time for Bleachers to take the stage, and they started their set with a bang—opening with several songs from the band’s recently released self-titled album, including “Modern Girl,” a fun, upbeat track that set the tone for the night. The catchy saxophone riff filled the air, singer and band leader Jack Antonoff let out a wail, and the party had clearly begun.
Antonoff uses every inch of the stage when he performs—one minute he’ll be singing into the mic centerstage, then he’s in the corner engaged in a call and response with his saxophone player (as he did on “How Dare You Want More”), then he’s strumming his guitar on top of the drum riser. He and his band are all incredible musicians. But Jack clearly doesn’t mind sacrificing a bit of technical perfection in the service of engaging with the crowd and putting on a show full of passion and energy. And that’s how it should be—that’s what makes a live show unique.
The show wasn’t all upbeat spectacle. At several moments, Antonoff was alone on the stage with his guitar, singing acoustic versions of “Call Me After Midnight,” “All My Heroes,” and “91.” It was in these quieter moments that you could hear just how loudly the crowd was singing along. In the absence of the band, the fans served as the backing vocalists.
“Wild Hearts,” the opening track of Bleachers’ debut album Strange Desire was one of the highlights of the band’s set. The song’s massive drums and synths sound even bigger in a live performance, the band’s sound expanding to fill up the field.
The set ended with the same high energy it began with. Antonoff took the crowd on an exhilarating journey through some of Bleachers’ biggest hits, “I Want to Get Better,” “Don’t Take the Money,” and “Stop Making This Hurt.” Just as they had done throughout the night, the crowd danced and sang along loudly, with plenty of encouragement from Jack.
After the last saxophone notes had faded and the band had waved goodbye, the crowd began to trek back across the field to their cars, but the energy from the night’s performances still hung in the night air.
At one point earlier in the night, light rain had begun to fall. Antonoff commented on how he likes the rain because it’s something that we all experience together, and the crowd cheered in agreement. That’s what live music is at its best, and that’s what this concert was—something unrepeatable that everyone present experienced together for a fleeting moment in time.
