From Quarantine Comforts to New Beginnings:

ERS+ concert review by Maverick Shin

Steve Lacy’s Oh Yeah? Tour is bigger than just Spiderman

“Something bad is ’bout to happen to me, I don’t know what, but I feel it coming…” is a
line many will recognize. While either through the endless scroll of TikTok my generation
employed to slowly achieve the dopamine drip we craved while stuck at home in 2020, or simply
through being a good music connoisseur. However, since the widely known song “Dark Red,” and album Gemini Rights Lacy has continued to evolve the genre of R&B through the blending of
Indie/Alternative sounds. So much so that his music was featured in the historic box office hit
film Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026).

But it would be false to simply reduce Steve Lacy’s sound to just COVID-comforts and
superheroes. While Gemini Rights, Lacy’s second studio album, tells the story of a heartbreak created through misunderstandings, Lacy’s newest album Oh Yeah dares to ask a more complex question: What if we are the ones in the wrong? In the beginning of the album, the audience first learns of a
breakup, in which we immediately empathize with the speaker. However, as we further listen to
each track we begin to understand why the lover Lacy mourns left. Lacy elucidates his own toxic
patterns, infidelity, and insecurities that forced this partner to finally leave and we can help but
sigh in relief at the break in his toxic cycles. Oh Yeah? Lacy’s third album tackles the complicated feelings that arise when you are the reason a good thing has been ruined yet you still can’t help but mourn its loss. Within the concert, Lacy is intentional to play the album in order allowing the audience to journey through the story each song tells.

Within the sound of the album itself, Steve Lacy’s individual production style is clearly
heard. Famously self taught, Steve Lacy learned music production from just an iPod, iPhone 6,
and the Garageband app to begin creating music. Lacy’s grassroots beginnings manifests in a
deeply personal sound that still resounds within his music. Oh Yeah? shows an expansion of
Lacy’s sound in a way that both makes sense for his indie rock R&B style yet still feels
refreshingly new. The production of the album takes on a very 2000’s R&B sound with a modern
spin without feeling like a gimmick at all. As if we are nostalgic about something something lost and loved along with Lacy when listening to each track.

Beyond the music, the concert was phenomenal, Lacy continues to showcase deft
crowdwork reassuring the audience through MGM Music Hall at Fenway’s technical difficulties, concert pit faintings, and more. He allowed his backup guitarist, Rachel Francis, to take over the set
providing an amazing solo underscoring the band’s pivotal role within his music. After the
created setlist, Lacy played a surprise song performing a cover of “This Night Has Opened My
Eyes,” by The Smiths taking us into his personal world as he states the song was, “one of [his]
favorite songs since he was a stoner in high school”. Lacy continues, by taking in crowd requests
playing fan favorites such as “Helmet” and “CU Girl”. The older songs were a joy to listen to
live, especially as the new album brought along an entirely new audience, such performances
allow the audience to be familiarized with some of Lacy’s beginnings and become an homage to
older fans who have stuck with Lacy since his debut release Apollo XXI. Best of all, Lacy seemingly joins artists, such as Audery Hobert, tackling audience interaction and immersion in the digital age in which recordings seem to be the audience’s main priority. Steve Lacy, played his most famous song in the album, the titular track “Oh Yeah?” twice within the concert—in the very beginning and the very end. In doing so, he allowed the audience a way to both get the recording they are looking for and
then simply enjoy the music without worrying about the phone they carry.

Overall, Steve Lacy allowed the audience to find comfort in the depiction of a realistic
relationship breakup allowing for the morally grey areas that come with such hurt to be honestly
shown. Afterall, as Lacy aptly puts it we are all, “a bit sh*tty”.

Elliott, C (2022, October 30). Steve Lacy (Photograph). Flickr. flickr.com/photos/cindyelliott/52475285294