Last updated on October 26th, 2023 at 06:51 pm
I had high hopes for the Bahamas show at First Avenue last Thursday. I had listened to his studio work frequently over the years but had yet to see him and his band perform live.

By “him,” I mean Afie Jurvanen, a Canadian musician who has worked with prominent artists such as The Lumineers and Jack Johnson.

The opening band for the night was the Fortunate Ones, a duo made up of Andrew James O’Brien and Catherine Allan. During their set, these two Canadian musicians revealed that they had been married for 6 years.

This came as no surprise, as they were clearly tuned in to one another on a personal and musical level. Their playing was intimate, and they sang in perfect harmony to a spellbound crowd.

During the set break, I spoke to two fans who had driven all the way from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. They said that they were big fans of the latest Bahamas album BOOTCUT.

Jurvanen came on stage backed by a full band, and started with his top hit “Lost in the Light.” This was followed by “Show Me Naomi,” and then BOOTCUT‘s “Gone Girl Gone,” which has a bit of a country guitar strutting sound paired with classic-sounding vocals.

Soothing the crowd with his mellow voice and subtle use of lighting, Jurvanen took the crowd through a set of old and new material. At times he broke out of his subdued tone and showed the strength of his voice, hitting some louder and longer notes.

He participated in some humble dialogue with the crowd and then moved into another BOOTCUT track, “I’m Still,” which gave me strong feelings of a Jack Johnson influence.

Later he interacted with the crowd again, noticing a person holding up a song request on their phone. He told them to be patient, then asked if they were using Snapchat, joking that they didn’t have that in Canada. He said Snapchat was just like other American products like Skittles and Mountain Dew which have both been restricted or banned in Canada.

The last song off his newest album that really stuck out to me was “Second Time Around,” a song about second chances and the fear of trying again.

Looking back at this show, I realize how much I enjoyed hearing Bahamas’ new material. I had not listened to the latest studio album, but after hearing a lot of it live, I will be putting it on my future playlists.
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