Sharon Van Etten

If you are unfortunate enough not to have heard of Sharon Van Etten by now – let me enlighten you, for she is someone that absolutely must to be on your radar. Originally from New Jersey and now based in New York. Indie-folk artist, Sharon Van Etten possesses an extraordinary talent for writing deeply personal, insightful lyrics. This combined with her unique ethereal voice make her a rare delight. Since her 2009 debut 'Because I was In Love', Sharon has gone from strength to strength gathering recognition with fans and music industry professionals alike, particularly with her third LP Tramp, which received worldwide critical praise. Bon Iver fans should know that Justin Vernon is a huge fan proclaiming Sharon's music “helps you get through life”. Her recently released fourth LP Are We There is another triumph and is her second album to be released on label Jagjaguwar. It was at London's KOKO, while touring this album that I had the pleasure of seeing her for the third time.
Accompanied by her band, Sharon chose a setlist that largely favoured her newest material. She began with 'Are We There's opening track 'Afraid Of Nothing'. The theme on this album seems to be a development in the narrative of her previous three albums; she so eloquently describes the volatility of love, relationships and her own emotions, giving the listener a really honest insight – hearing it live only enhances this. It can't be easy to do that in front of an audience. However, she is endearing and funny throughout and even when a random punter in the crowd shouts “You're doing great!” she looks up and quips “Dad? Is that you?”. KOKO is a great venue to see her in. The disco ball hanging from the old theatre's roof rotates casting a room full of little specks of light that go round the room while Sharon sings. A wonderful venue and great atmosphere. She finished with single, 'Every Time The Sun Comes Up' only to come back on for a two song encore of 'I Love You But I'm Lost' and the hauntingly beautiful 'I Know'. Absolutely mesmerising performer and quite possibly the most amiable person in music.

Sharon Van Etten's recorded voice does funny things to me. Are We There was my 2014 album of the year and I'd been itching to see her live ever since. Turns out her live voice does funny things to me too.

Tonight's set was simply spine-tingling. Focused mainly on songs from Are We There and a few choice cuts from Tramp I really couldn't have asked for a better show. The first thing that strikes me is how powerful her vocals are, faultless from start to finish in fact. Sharon keeps the chat between songs short early on, something she later suggests is to avoid getting too emotional, but there's still a real connection between her and the audience. Taking Chances features the first use of the intriguing Omnichord and this is followed by a sublime version of Tarifa and a stunning Give Out.

New song I Don't Want To Let You Down has received a fair bit of airplay this year and turns out to be the lead track from an upcoming EP which is a nice surprise. That's followed by All Over Again which I don't know but is as loveable as everything else. The main set is brought to a close by the heart-wrenching Your Love Is Killing Me and having held up pretty well this is the song when I start to wonder if I'll need to use those SVE branded tissues on sale at the merch stand.

The encores push me over the edge. Sharon comes out to play I Know solo on the keyboard. There's a bit of a false start when she accidentally catches the volume pedal turning the sound down mid-intro but it is an immaculate version once she's off and running and makes me want to see her play a longer set entirely solo. The band return and things get decidedly louder for Serpents (my favourite song from Tramp) and the perfect ending is achieved with Every Time The Sun Comes Up (my favourite song from Are We There) bringing the gig to a wonderful close.

From Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen to Whitney Houston and Bon Jovi, New Jersey has been known to be the home to some of music’s great artists. And we can add Sharon Van Etten to this list.
Born and raised in the Garden State, she finally moved to Brooklyn in 2005 where she was encouraged by TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone to pursue her music. She soon started making homemade demos and mixtapes as well as playing to bars around the local area. Four years later, she released a collection of folk rock songs called ‘Because I Was in Love.’
Seeing Sharon play in New York in the early days of her career greatly differs to how she is on stage now. Back then she was still shy and tended to look down at her guitar more opposed to the audience while she played ‘For You’ or ‘Consolation Prize.’ However, when I saw her again participate in a tribute show to Big Star in Central Park last year (2013), her confidence and connection with the audience was much more present. Instead of being so self-conscious and serious, she was smiling loads and just had a more carefree way about herself while singing some of Big Star’s hits. This attitude has continued as she released more albums like ‘Tramp’ and this year’s ‘Are We There.’
And as she’s grown as an artist and performer, ‘Are We There’ is a culmination of all the hard work she’s put into her career thus far. Not only is she a bit more electric these days and adding more sonic layers to her indie folk sound, but Sharon is sharing other sides of herself.

Sharon Van Etten is a singer-songwriter known for he probing lyrics and enthralling vocals. This June van Etten made a rare appearance in England, briefly stopping in London.
Performing at KOKO, Sharon Van Etten created an intimate atmosphere, performing her evocative work under soft lighting effects and explaining a little about each song to the audience. Most famously, the songwriter draws upon her experiences of an unhealthy six-year relationship and eventual return to her family. Before performing ‘You Know Me Well’ the singer announced almost sheepishly, ‘this song is about, erm… erm…. Therapy.’ She then gave a little chuckle before elaborating, ‘because I need it.’ Sharon captured the essence of being a singer-songwriter here. The audience rocked slowly and appreciatively as they were encouraged to delve into the potentially troubling depths of their own minds.
Even her most well known songs were performed with a strikingly intimate edge. Exchanging keyboard for acoustic guitar to perform ‘Every Time the Sun Comes Up’ Sharon proved that she’s no ‘one hit wonder.’ The hit felt as raw as the night she wrote it.
I would advise you to take any opportunity you get to see Sharon Van Etten. She is one of those artists whose work is eerily emotive when recorded, and even more challenging, yet rewarding, when live.

Hard to imagine how it could have been much better! The songs on the new album, like all the best songs, are growers and she played all of them. She was more extrovert than I had expected and I have since heard an interview in which she said she was deliberately trying to make eye contact with as many people in the crowd as she could and that was so evident and really helped bring the songs to life in the live setting not just reproducing what’s on the record. The passion with which she delivered the vocals got to the crowd no more so than in Seventeen when she let rip at the end of the song and the crowd just spontaneously started to cheer and scream. The hairs on the back of my neck were up at that point. Too many highlights really to pick out anything in particular but my favourites were: the version of Hands, much heavier than the album version and really rocking; No one’s easy to Love my favourite song on the album I think and just wonderful live; Seventeen as already mentioned above; Serpents her classic song delivered with as much gusto as the new songs and sitting alongside them amazingly well; and the finale Love More which was haunting and beautiful and as Sharon told us was the stated intention sent the crowd home with thoughts of love in these disturbing times. What a night.

Sharon Van Etten always brings an unrivalled warmth, and of course voice to the stage. She is also very witty, this time I saw her in Cambridge bantering with the crowd about forgetting that she'd played there a few years ago. It was also nice to hear her explaining that she wanted to make eye contact with every audience member during the powerful Seventeen, as if she was hugging every one of us.

The first time I saw Sharon Van Etten was at Glasto 2015 at the Park Stage, I was standing towards the top of the hill, completely mesmerised as everyone is when watching her. I remember her dedicating one her songs to a little girl on her dad's shoulders (perhaps Every Time the Sun Comes Up) which was very sweet.

After her break of a few years, she has come back invigorated, the music surprisingly backed up by meaty synths and trip-hop like beats. She has a more typical frontwoman stage presence with more confidence now, it is nice to see. Perhaps on one or two of the older songs this takes away the impact, but they are still performed exquisitely. Van Etten is in a new phase in her musical career and Remind Me Tomorrow and its accompanying tour have opened doors to new possibilities in what she can do.

I went and saw Charlie Musselwhite at the same venue the night before and he set a difficult standard for SVE to follow.

It's not that there was anything particularly wrong with her and the band's performance it just didn't hit any great heights in my opinion. It wasn't horrible but not fantastic. Would be nice if she could step out from behind an instrument and be more of a presence on stage but her stage craft will no doubt improve over time.

Another note, this one on the sound. I've been to The Factory Theatre many times and think it typically has some of the best and most consistent sound at a mid-size Sydney venue. Sunday night for SVE was an exception however. Her voice was quite nasally at times and the speakers seemed to be clipping too which didn't help.

If I had to proffer a 'score' I'd say 6.5 out of 10.

We had a wonderful time watching Sharon Van Etten for the first time. She returned to La Maroquinerie in Paris and the place was packed (sold out). As expected, she played much from her excellent new album "Remind Me Tomorrow", but also went back to her others for a nice mix of old and new. She and her band did not disappoint. They excel in harmonies, and Sharon is great at delivering a soaring melody above some synths or crunchy guitars. Though I enjoyed the harmonizing, I really liked hearing and watching the bass player. At least from the back of the room by the mixer, the sound nicely mixed, never losing Sharon's voice.

Sharon Van Etten is a really interesting artist and I enjoyed her show very much. She will not be everybody's cup of tea but she is far more entertaining than the current crop of sickly sweet dance oriented young female artists. Her songs grow on you and are not "catchy" tunes that soon bore.
Her concert was a mixture of her current excellent album and earlier work. It naturally helped to be familiar with most of her songs already. She comes across as a real person without pretensions.
I would definitely go and see her again and undoubtedly will in a few weeks time at Glasto.

This girl is a rather unexpected rock star. Her music is mostly moody and chill, with some tracks that rock out. But the level to which she rocked out live was crazy. And she jumped from one guitar to the next, played a couple of different keyboards, even dragged out some chimes and then a tambourine. And she’s sweet as can be, expressing appreciation for her fans and her crew, not to mention her band, of course. I cannot wait to she rolls into town again. Amazing performer. Love her!!