Off the back of his performance at his hometown stadium of Fenway Park, as well as a string of recent shows across the UK, you might imagine Noah Kahan could be emotionally and physically burnt out.
But on Wednesday night, during the first of two sold-out shows at The O2, the star proved that he could, in fact, perform the Stick Season setlist with the same maniacally soulful and witty energy as he has for the last two and a half years.
His band began the banjo-heavy instrumental of the hit song Dial Drunk before Kahan even took to the stage, and when he did, the arena erupted. London had clearly and rather fittingly enjoyed a few beers before his 9pm start, and the reaction to his opening song was more akin to a third, or fourth encore. Off-beat, tipsy claps and the echoing tip-tap of cowboy boots almost threatened to overpower the music.
His entire performance was filled to the brim with darkly acerbic remarks and nihilistic humour. “My goal tonight is to make you feel depressed, anxious and angry,” said Kahan. Fat chance. Despite the singer’s beautifully honest lyricism, his fans enthusiastically screamed his most gut-wrenching lines right back at him.
“There’s a lot of positive energy in the room right now and it’s pissing me off a bit to be honest with you,” the New England star continued: a joke, surely. No matter how hard he tried, the crowd still joyfully belted his most depressing hits, from New Perspective right down to Your Needs, My Needs.
Kahan and his band also succeeded at making friends with their crowd, so much so that the singer agreed to bring a fan up to play guitar for the song Maine. Together, the motley crew produced what could only be described as a choir-like performance, with the help of Kahan’s lilting yet perfectly controlled, goosebump-raising vocals. Not exactly something you’d expect from a sardonic Vermont native with a man bun and a lisp. Or is it?
From signing a fan’s Zoloft prescription to getting emotional himself, Kahan brings a rare levity to otherwise taboo topics. He revels in his musical and lyrical honesty, which resulted here in a captive, tear-struck and dance-crazy audience that hung onto his every beat and syllable – even if he came on wearing a Chelsea shirt for the eventual encore. London heard the gospel of Noah Kahan, and it’s safe to say they’ve been converted.
