Photos by Gwen Howerton

by Gwen Howerton

Clad in all black, elf-like and lit by starlight, Caroline Polachek proved her star power is just as formidable as her studio presence in her solo Austin debut at Mohawk Outdoor on Friday, November 19th. I had the privilege of seeing her in her first post-Chairlift appearance in the so-called Live Music Capital of the World, and it was worth all the COVID-19 related delays to see a chill but energetic performance from one of indie-pop’s hottest and most up-and-coming stars. Polachek came fresh on the heels of a string of star-studded collaborations, most notably on Charli XCX’s latest single “New Shapes'' featuring Polachek and Christine and the Queens, but what she brought to the chilly November evening was a dazzling lineup of hits and deep cuts from her 2019 solo debut “Pang” and a few unreleased tracks that I assume will be released in the coming months.

Before diving too much into the main event, I can’t go on without mentioning Polachek’s opener, Oklou. My friends and I arrived a bit late to the venue, so I missed the first couple songs of Oklou’s set – unusual for me, considering I’m a first to enter, last to leave concertgoer (although to be fair, it seemed most people were here for Polachek). We showed our vaccine cards and tickets, and entered the mostly masked venue, stopping for merch and drinks (I committed myself to a single whiskey sour that evening, which was absolutely delicious). We probably got into the crowd a good 35 minutes into Oklou’s show, although I missed a good amount trying to wedge myself into a good spot for the show. What I heard, however, made me interested enough in Oklou’s music that I made a mental note to get into her music when I next had the chance. Oklou herself came into the show with an impressive number of collaborations with the likes of Bladee and the patron saints of hyperpop, Danny L. Harle and A.G. Cook, the latter of which was covered by Oklou in the back half of the show. Playing mostly from her 2020 debut “Galore”, Oklou mixed her DJ roots with some impressive instrument work, at one point shredding on the bass. At one point, she incorporated a sample from the emo classic “Going Under” by Evanescence, which got some excited cheers from the crowd. After covering A.G. Cook’s “Being Harsh'' and closing out with her 2020 single “Friendless”, Oklou bid the crowd good evening and left around 9:45, leaving us waiting for the main event. 

Funny enough, this was one of the latest shows I’ve been to in a long time. My tickets told me that doors opened at 8:00, with the show starting at 9:00 p.m., much later than I’m accustomed to (I’m a big fan of an early start, 10 – 11 release to give me time to grab food and drive home). A schedule posted at the bar announced that Caroline would take the stage at 10:15, although it was more around 10:30. However, the wait was entirely worth it because Caroline woke me up with her awesome set. 

I didn’t have a great view of the show quite honestly, but if you want to get the best spots you have to show up early. My friends and I ended up in the rightmost corner of the venue, behind a group of some of the tallest guys I have ever seen in my entire life. Now I’m not short by any stretch of the imagination, but these guys made my 5 foot 8 feel like 4 foot 4. I told myself that once the crowd got energized, I’d have the chance to move closer, but this was not a moshing show - nothing like the high energy mosh pit of the 100 Gecs show I hit the week before. Where my feet were planted was where they stayed, because there was room for little more than swaying and cramped dancing at this packed show. Nevertheless, I didn’t need to see Polachek the whole time for her to wow me with her star power. 

Opening with an instrumental of “The Gate”, Polachek started out high with “Pang”, bathing herself in heavenly white light with every chorus. The setlist was a perfect mix of high and low energy, with every other song being a slow ballad for Caroline to showcase her beautiful vocals that were just as good live as they were on her records. We were all jumping and dancing when she began her infectious dance hit “Bunny is A Rider”, all about being unavailable and unknowable (the dream of every Gen-Z woman I know). By the way, if you were interested in the merch situation, you could buy white panties and g-strings adorned with the title lyric of the song. Pass for me, but fun if that’s your thing! After that, she debuted a new track “Sunset”, which was kind of hard to hear but sounded incredibly fun and 80’s inspired, and I can’t wait to hear this one when it comes out.

Polachek moved on to several beautiful, slow performances of her more introspective ballads “I Give Up” and “Look At Me Now”, which had me swaying and singing at the top of my lungs, half from the ethereal energy of her voice and half from the $7 whiskey sour that had now taken effect.  I think it was at this point that she stopped and pointed to the full moon, which was centered high in the sky and fresh off Thursday’s total lunar eclipse. Polachek bade us all to unleash our inner wolf and howl as loud as we could at the shining moon.. We stood for a couple minutes howling at the moon, and I could feel the post-COVID longing released from all of us in a way that my other shows I’ve been to haven’t quite captured. “Pang” was my go-to album during quarantine. It was my rock, my collection of songs that I felt captured the essence of longing for someone else’s company during the loneliness of the first couple months of the pandemic. I felt this way the most during her performance of “Ocean of Tears”, my favorite track and one of my most-listened to songs during the pandemic. I can recall countless nights in the bathtub, ruminating on the chorus -  “The only thing separating you and me tonight / is an ocean of tears”. Now, back in the world and surrounded by my friends and the sweaty, Juul-stenched company of strangers, I felt like I had crossed that unfathomable ocean, and had made it to the other side scathed and scarred, but with a sense of grown up, drunken love for both my familiars and the strangers beside me. To say “Ocean of Tears” was a peak is an understatement. Caroline followed up this stretch of songs with hits like “Breathless”, a new song “Billions” and “Caroline Shut Up”, which was incredibly funny to sing along to because she feigned anger the first time the crowd shouted “Caroline, SHUT UP!”. Finally, she wrapped up the show with “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings”, during which she was drenched in images of exploding volcanoes via a projector unseen. 

No show nowadays is really over when the headliner says goodnight, and that was proven right when the stage crew brought out a large, circular podium. After chants begging for an encore, Caroline returned and stood upon the podium, telling a long story about the dream that inspired her track “Parachute”, which she then performed. It was the next song that really stole the show for me. Caroline brought Oklou back out on stage, and they stood back to back on the circular podium as it began slowly rotating. The projector threw images of burning flames onto the gorgeous, black and leather clad women as they began an incredible cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”, with Caroline and Oklou taking turns singing each verse before coming together on the chorus. It was a beautiful moment and I was transfixed the entire time. I really hope that these two collaborate on a song in the future, or maybe release this cover as a single because their chemistry is undeniable and they brought an amazing energy to an already beautiful track. 

I think what makes Caroline Polachek such an incredible artist for our moment is her ability to make pop songs that are at once incredibly introspective and infectiously danceable – her music is so uniquely raw and it comes through exceptionally in her live performances. From her ethereal beauty to her jaw dropping high notes, Caroline Polachek is an enchantress and I was fully under her spell last week in Austin.