PHOTOS: Wild Nothing gets dreamy at The Independent

Wild Nothing, Jack Tatum

Wild Nothing performs at The Independent in San Francisco on Oct. 28, 2018. Photos: Joaquin Cabello.

SAN FRANCISCO — Wild Nothing brought its Indigo tour to the Independent Sunday, on the second of two nights in the City. The project of Virginia musician Jack Tatum performed a cohesive show, highlighting his new album while capturing the synthesis and essence of dream-pop.

Wild Nothing, Jack Tatum

Wild Nothing performs at The Independent in San Francisco on Oct. 28, 2018.

Every sound, melody and rhythm on Indigo, that Wild Nothing performed sought for the perfect combination of man and machine to create to create a mix of reverb, chorus and strings alongside expansive percussion.

Tatum and his band opened with “Summer Holiday,” cut from 2010’s Gemini, before transitioning to Indigo‘s “Wheels of Misfortune.” He dived into all of his records: “Live in Dreams,” off Gemini; Golden Haze, off 2010 EP Evertide; and “Whenever I,” off 2016’s Life of Pause.

Wild Nothing, Jack Tatum

Wild Nothing performs at The Independent in San Francisco on Oct. 28, 2018.

New songs like “Partners in Motion” and “Bend” showed an evolution and maturity in Tatum’s work. The catchy sound and melodious pop, combined with the more dreamy textures of shoegaze never became overwhelming.

The main set ended with Indigo cuts “Shallow” and “Letting Go,” “Paradise,” off 2012’s Nocturne. The Wild Nothing encore consisted of three older fan favorites: “Chinatown,” “A Dancing Shell” (from 2013’s Empty State) and“Shadow.”

Men I Trust

Men I Trust performs at The Independent in San Francisco on Oct. 28, 2018.

Montreal band Men I Trust opened the concert with a strong blend of indie rock, chillwave, and electro-pop. The quartet opened with “Break for Lovers,” off 2015 Headroom, and continued with 2017 singles “Tailwhip” and “You Deserve This.” Both hewed closer to chillwave at the outset before veering into different territory. A few other cuts leaned more in emo territory. Men I Trust reached a dreamy indie rock sound with new songs “Show Me How” and “Seven.”

Follow photographer Joaquin Cabello at Instagram.com/joaquinxcabello.

No Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *