by Norm de Veyra
Samia (Samia Najimy Finnerty) delivered an emotionally captivating show in San Francisco last week in support of her sophomore release Honey. Equal parts joyous, wistful, and devastating the set solidified the Nashville based singer-songwriter as an ascendant storyteller among a crowded pool of emerging indie rock and pop talent from the past few years.
Standing center stage solo, dimmed lights, Samia began the evening with ‘Kill Her Freak Out’ the first single and lead track off Honey. A melancholic song lamenting her conflicting feelings about life and love.
“Can I tell you something/ I’ve never felt so unworthy of loving/ I hope you marry the girl from your hometown, And I’ll fucking kill her, and I’ll fucking freak out,” bemoaned the singer as a once silent crowd burst into a sing-along at that same moment. A cathartic shared connection clearly made.
And as the lonely organ faded and the lights blacked out to silence to close out the song we immediately segue, full lights and full band now on stage, into the raucous and cheeky “Fit N Full” from her 2020 album, The Body.
“I’m fit and full as ever/ If you want, I can take it off/ And show you what my mama gave me,” winkingly crooned the singer.
These opening moments perfectly encapsulated Samia’s contrasting soundscape and live show. Setting the tone for the rest of the evening’s blend of sparse emotionally charged bedroom-pop confessionals and rollicking country-folk jams.
This back and forth built a tension that paid off most effectively midway through the set as the lonely organ once again returned to introduce ‘Breathing Song’. A haunting account of a vulnerable episode that placed Ms. Finnerty front and center with just her voice to guide the audience through this intimate story and experience. Culminating with the abrupt black out timed to the last cut off notes of a crescendoing chorus.
Already an emotional high point within the context of the album, ‘Breathing Song’ in real life, shared with that sold-out crowd in that auditorium that night may already register as one of the standout moments of this year for me. The intensity of which lingered long after the song, and even the show, had ended.
These wide swinging shifts in tone and genre risked leaving folks drained, yet, buoyed by her crisp, confident vocals, charming presence, tongue-in-cheek lyricism and stellar backing band, Samia deftly managed the juggling act to deliver a cohesive and enjoyable hour and a half set. A set that showcased a developing performer and storyteller and offered a glimpse of an artist perhaps on the cusp of greater attention.
Samia continues touring the US through April.
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