Double Infinity and a Supermoon: Big Thief at Moody Amphitheater 11/5

Written by Claire Hookstra

Image courtesy of Ticketmaster

On a surprisingly cool November night in Austin, Texas, Big Thief took the Moody Amphitheater stage on its ‘Somersault Slide 360’ Tour. With opener Lomelda, the night was an emotional show exploring the joys and pitfalls of love, friendship, and the acceptance of growing old.

The crowd, dressed in thrifted button-downs and a surprising number of Lucy Dacus baseball hats, packed into the venue, in which the seats had been removed to make the audience one large GA pit. Murmurs of the brisk air surrounded me, the Texans surprised but grateful that they could finally wear jeans and sweaters. Lomelda started off the night at 7 p.m., working through both released and unreleased tracks, warming up the crowd with soft vocals and impressive instrumentals.

Just past 8 p.m., Big Thief entered the stage suavely, guitarist Buck Meek in a sleek black tie and white button down, drummer James Krivchenia in an “I heart NYC” shirt (just after Zohran’s announcement as mayor-elect just the day before), and lead singer Adrianne Lenker in simple jeans and a t-shirt. The stage had nothing special, no large backdrop or screen to distract the audience like many shows today. Big Thief didn’t need it. 

Within a brief silence in the welcoming screams from the crowd, the band effortlessly burst into the jangly, intricate, and crowd-favorite “Vampire Empire.” Fans turned to each other in shock, for most wouldn’t expect any musician to begin with one of their most popular songs; however, Big Thief plays by no rules. “I wanted to be your woman / I wanted to be your man / I wanted to be the one that you could understand,” both Lenker and the audience crooned, tears already falling not even two minutes into the night. The instantly recognizable electric riff of “Shark Smile” off the band’s 2017 album Capacity blared throughout the amphitheater, earning a sea of cheers from the captivated audience. Lenker’s deep vocal range was emphasized with the track, and the uplifting drum beat got the audience dancing lightly from side to side. 

A legendary three-track opening run for a show, next was “Masterpiece.” The song doesn’t feature an intro, so the shock of the transition of the quietness of “Shark Smile” into the singular strum cue of “Masterpiece” was nothing short of emotional whiplash. “You saw the masterpiece / She looks a lot like you,” fans yelled into the air, pointing up at the sky with one hand and holding their hearts with the other, as if they were a part of a religious sermon. The first song of the night played from the unit’s latest album, Double Infinity, was “Incomprehensible.” A tear-jerker, Lenker performed the song as if it were her own mantra. Closing her eyes and nodding, “I’m afraid of getting older / That’s what I’ve learned to say / Society has given me the words to think that way.”

Now that the crowd was looming into an existential crisis of growing older and the passing of time, their hearts were open for the rapid acoustics of “Words.” Yet another instance of crying to smiling, fans grooved to the beat. “I’m higher than I’ve ever been / Fire’s taking oxygen,” Lenker sang. The instruments became lighter, the lights brighter, the vocals higher-pitched, as if it were an audible breath of fresh air, before the beat crashed through the feeling with the repetition of the rapid guitar. Fan favorite “Simulation Swarm” brought the crowd back to the ground, with fans getting as close to headbanging as one can at a Big Thief concert… more like a really intense head nod.

Something to note about this show is that it was the night of the Super Beaver Moon, a supermoon known for being connected with manifestation and reflection. Lenker took time to point out the large moon that hovered in the sky, to which the audience howled at, much to the band’s enjoyment. Between songs, concertgoers would repeatedly look to the moon, smiling as if this concert were their own form of connecting with a "celestial body."  

The band gifted Austin with an unreleased song, “Trade Tomorrow.” Yet another moment of magic in the night, and I noticed there were not many phones in the air. A new song, a moment to probably go viral online, and everyone simply stood and absorbed the new music, truly taking it in. “Not,” the song I and most fans were waiting for, began as everyone braced for the emotional outburst the ending of the song entailed. However, just a few moments into the track, Lenker stopped singing and explained that this is one of her favorite songs to sing, but she can never remember the third line. She wanted to sing it “right” for Austin, so she took the time to remember the line with the help of her bandmates and the audience. After remembering, “It’s not the formless being,” Lenker spoke in a slam-poetry style through the entirety of the beginning of the song again, before restarting the track from the beginning and perfecting every line. “Not” seamlessly transitioned into an improvised song by the band, with little words and many laughs from the band onstage. It was something special, watching the musicians create live in front of my eyes. The title track, “Double Infinity,” followed, in which Lenker sang a cappella to a silent audience. It felt as if no one dared to even breathe during the song, watching in awe as her voice quavered through the emotional lyrics. 

The main set concluded with “Spud Infinity.” The band left the stage with a flood of cheers before quickly returning to play “Time Escaping.” Only expecting one encore song, Big Thief received a large applause at the end of the song, while they crept into the intro of “Change.” An attendee behind me screamed into the air, “NO WAY!” as the audience quickly turned back to the stage and ended the already emotional night with even more nostalgia. 

Big Thief is more than just a band, but a creative, working, collaborative unit. Seeing them live is something almost holy, watching the talented musicians play off of one another, experiment, and create before your eyes. I left the show feeling lighter, as if I was on some emotional high.. Or maybe it was the supermoon.