HALF ALIVE / TESSA VIOLET / DEV LEMONS 4.27.2023

May 8

Photos and Words By JULIA FINOCCHIARO

half alive brought their tour promoting their new album “Conditions of a Punk” to Boston at the House of Blues last Thursday night with a unique, themed set throughout their performance.

The first opening act of the night was singer Dev Lemons, who played a short, quirky set along with her drummer Nick. She also performed and promoted her new single “You Tear Me Apart,” which came out the following day.

Next up was Tessa Violet, who entered the stage dressed in a stunning pink bodysuit and knee-high matching boots. I had seen Tessa perform in the fall at a smaller venue in Boston, but it was awesome seeing her command a much larger stage. She played all of her hits, including “Crush” and “Bad Ideas,” as well as two new songs “Bad Bitch” and “You Are Not My Friend,” which fans caught on singing along to quickly.

When it was time for half alive to take the stage, two crew members came out to hold up a sheet in front of the band for almost the entire first two songs. The sheet allowed the audience to see only the silhouettes of the band members, who moved towards and away from the sheet to create a really cool effect to eager onlookers waiting to see the faces of the band.

About halfway through the second song, “The Fall,” the sheet was dropped to reveal lead singer Josh Taylor in the front center of the stage with drummer Brett Kramer and bassist J. Tyler Johnson on raised platforms on each side behind him. The next song, “Summerland,” was the first song in the “Summer” portion of the set.

The band divided up their set into each season, showcasing different themes of their songs throughout the performance. With all four seasons and an impressive 26-song setlist, there was certainly something for every fan that came to see half alive that night. For a good portion of their songs, half alive sang alongside their tightly choreographed dancers, giving a feel to the show typically found only at much larger productions.

The “Summer” and “Fall” sections of the show focused primarily on half alive’s new album “Conditions of a Punk,” while “Winter” and “Spring” later on began to incorporate a few of their older tunes. In the closing set “Spring,” they made sure to play their hits “still feel.,” “RUNAWAY,” and “creature.”

half alive make several more stops on their tour throughout May, and I highly recommend going to see them and experience their carefully curated performance!

DEV LEMONS