The Early November and Have mercy | Show Review

A little over a month ago, The Early November embarked on a US tour to celebrate and promote the release of their newest record, Lilac, which dropped on September 27th. Fast forward to October 16, and I had the pleasure of catching them almost exactly a year later (2 days' difference!) at the same venue in Brighton, MA - Brighton Music Hall.

This was only my second time seeing The Early November live, and I loved every second of Ace Enders' energy. One of my favorite things artists can do while on stage performing is interact with the crowd, and The Early November's members did just that. I'm a newer The Early November fan, so it was really cool to see all of their long time fans go crazy when they got to "the sweaty part of the set" (deemed so by Ace Enders himself). Even as they played newer songs off of their new record Lilac, the crowd jammed along. You can definitely tell their fans are in it for the long haul.

As is typical of Brighton Music Hall, the sound was impeccable. The band played new songs off of Lilac such as "Hit By A Car (In Euphoria," "I Dissolve," and "Ave Maria." They also played popular fan favorites such as "Tell Me Why" and "Call Off The Bells" and "I Want to Hear You Sad." I was for sure stoked to be able to catch this set.

On a more personal note, I was also glad to be able to catch Have Mercy on this tour, in support of The Early November. Have Mercy's music has always been able to reach me in all the emotional crevasses  of my brain that other artists just haven't tapped into. I was ecstatic to hear they were putting out a new record, and embarking on not one but two really great tours this year.

When I heard "Clair" upon it's release, I was hooked instantly. There was an odd sense of nostalgia that I still can't quite place, but I can assure you it ended up on both my "Walking" and "Bike Riding" playlists. When I saw Have Mercy over the summer with The Dangerous Summer, I was excited to hear the new single (and my newest favorite Have Mercy song) live. Due to incredibly emotional and forgivable circumstances, it was accidentally left out, which made the anticipation of hearing it this time around much greater. I was absolutely not disappointed. The rest of their set was a good mix of  new songs from their newest record, The Love Life, such as "Mattress on the Floor," "Dressed Down," and "So Like You," while also throwing it back to favorites like "Coexist," "This Old Ark," and "Let's Talk About Your Hair."

If you have not had a moment yet, make sure to check out Lilac from The Early November, and The Love Life by Have Mercy. Both are brand new, solid works from this year that have easily made it into my top releases of 2019. They may just end up in yours too!

Photo's and review by Janelle Choiniere