Wye Oak Debut New Songs At City Winery

Alas, I've seen Jenn Wasner live.

I had long been waiting for our paths to cross, and the time came last Friday night when Wye Oak rolled through New York, playing at City Winery. 

Now I will say, when I first saw the venue announcement, it threw me for a loop. It's a fancy spot, and by "fancy" I mean a sit-down space with a menu whose wine options extend beyond "house red." I'm more accustomed to the hipster venues with five dollar Modelo for which I enjoy, whole-heartedly. Though, ain't nothing wrong with a change of (s)pace once in a while, ya know?

In fact, Wasner spoke to this during the show. After opening up the set, she excited the crowd with news of their newly finished album and that they'd play a handful of these songs for us. She went on to share how nervous they were to do so, how vulnerable it is to play brand new songs for a crowd who's never heard them and, to that point, how appreciative they were to be playing intimate, sit-down spaces where the audience was fully tuned in to the performance.

Makes sense. Our spaces are important; who and what we surround ourselves with influences our thoughts, actions, creativity and comfort levels. It totally resonates. I'm very much a designated-spaces-for-differing-activities kind of gal: my home for relaxing, the bar for Sunday football, the gym for working out, the coffee shop for blog writing (I'm here now), and City Winery for the intimate shows. 

With that, they played on. The band, comprised of Jenn Wasner (vocalist, guitar, bass) and Andy Stack (drums, keyboard), played songs spanning their five album catalogue, peppering in the new tracks which the audience went wild for.

My favorite song of the night was an older one, "For Prayer" from their 2009 release, The Knot. It was a beautiful display of her vibrant, soothing vocals splashed against the harsh, clamoring guitar interjections that vibrated throughout the room. Not to mention the guitar solo that she absolutely slayed. 

To give you a taste, here's a video of "For Prayer" from a Houston show back in 2016:

It was a solid show with everyone hyper tuned into what was transpiring on stage. By the end of the night, I believe the consensus was: when will the new album be available?!

And with that I'll add, when's the next tour?

xxChris