The rising star ran through ‘Stick Season’ hits as well as throwback fan favorites.
“I never feel uglier than when I’m in LA,” Noah Kahan joked to the sold-out crowd at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre on Friday night (Aug. 11), which was immediately met by roaring laughter and assurance from fans.
Though it’s unlikely that Kahan could ever feel ugly in his sleek white jacket featuring a photo of his beloved German Shepard and his album title Stick Season written across the back, the balance between humor and touching moments encouraging love and healing were prominent throughout the evening.
Shortly after he received a Taylor Swift-themed friendship bracelet from a fan in the front row that read “folkwhore,” the singer ran through fan-favorite and heart-wrenching tracks from his 2022 deluxe album Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), weaved with throwback hits like “False Confidence” and “Maine.”
Looking out into the audience, who showed just how much they love him by belting out every word to every song, Kahan showed his love back before performing “You’re Gonna Go Far,” a song about taking risks. “I know a lot of people here in LA aren’t from LA. They’ve taken big risks in their lives to come here,” he sweetly told the audience. “Remember that the people back home love you and are happy you’re doing well.”
He also showed his love throughout the show by encouraging his fans to go to therapy if it’s accessible to them. “I had all of these dark feelings and thoughts for a lot of my childhood and I just lied about them to my therapist for 10 years and never said anything real,” he recalled. “I was so lucky and privileged to go to therapy, but I still lied because it was scary to confront what I was actually feeling. I know it looks like I’ve been divorced two times, Los Angeles, I look old as s— but I’m only 26 [laughs] When I was 23, I started being honest and telling the truth to my therapist and I started feeling happier for the first time. It was strange for me but it felt good.”
He continued, “The happiest person in here should be in therapy. It could save your life.”
In general, the show was as cathartic and therapeutic as it gets without actually sitting down with a therapist, as fans in the audience were tearing up constantly as they heard songs that resonate with them, a unique quality of Kahan’s music that isn’t as common in the mainstream music scene these days. The swell of emotions all culminated with the set’s final song, “Homesick,” as all 6,000 people in the crowd, who are chasing dreams likely in the city they did not grow up in, came together to sing and feel at home.
Source: Billboard
