An Evening with Dawes: the Oh Brother Tour took The Fillmore stage by storm in San Francisco on December 6th, 2024. Dawes is currently touring their ninth and newest studio album Oh Brother, which was released in October this year. Dawes co-founders, the Goldsmith brothers, includes Taylor on guitar and lead vocals and Griffin on drums. The album title has a deeper meaning since the two leads are actually related and, you guessed it, they are brothers. On tour, they are joined by a full band with Alexander βZβ Lynch on bass, Wil Blades on electric keyboard and organ, Trevor Menear on guitar and vocals, and Ian Laseter Bush on auxiliary percussion. Bush also designed Dawes posters sold at the merchandise booth. The group started off the night with βMister Los Angelesβ from their new album Oh Brother. Throughout the set, the band allowed each musician to shine with instrumental solos.
The sound of Dawes is a lovely blend of Jimmy Buffett meets Mumford & Sons with their own personal twist. The Fillmore had mostly standing room with just enough space to dance. The audience took full advantage: they swing danced to the faster songs, slow danced to the lower-tempo songs and held one another and swayed to all the songs in between. Each song had powerful lyrics invoking emotion in the audience. The crowd could not help but dance for hits such as βFront Row Seatβ from Oh Brother. Dawes can tell great stories through lyrics, and the band also spent time on instrumental breaks. The band and audience alike truly felt the power and emotion behind music, and it was able to connect them all together.
Before the show, fans discussed seeing Dawes so many times that now their second favorite bands, after Dawes, are the ones that open for Dawes. Many shows in the tour are opened by Winnetka Bowling League, however, for a handful of shows, they did not join Dawes on stage. For these shows such as the one in San Francisco, Dawes decided to make them extra special and performed a two-set Evening with Dawes. They performed songs from Oh Brother as well as many of their previous albums.
Dawes made the show interactive and actively engaged the crowd. For example, during βFire Awayβ from the 2011 album Nothing is Wrong (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), Taylor divided the crowd in half and had one side sing a lower harmony while the other side sang the higher harmony. During βSomewhere Along The Way,β from the 2015 album All Your Favorite Bands, Taylor switched guitars for an intense guitar solo. The crowd responded with cheers and whistles. Taylor crossed back and forth across the stage during βWhen My Time Comesβ from 2009 album North Hills and for the last chorus, he pointed the microphone at the crowd and let them sing a few notes acapella before the band and vocals rejoined. Fans in the back helped the band by playing air guitar, drums, and keys.
If the sound and on-stage performances were not enough, the lighting also played a key role in creating a top-notch show. It was clear the lightning choices were intentional for each song because they matched the vibe of the song perfectly. Also, the lighting team took full advantage of the unique aspects that The Fillmore had to offer including lighting up the in-house disco ball during a few songs. The Fillmore is known for its chandeliers hung throughout. Color changing lights lit up the dazzling chandeliers. Both softly brought up the house lights and was a small touch that boosted the entire Dawes experience to the next level.
The second set started off with just Taylor and a guitar for the acoustic βSomething in Commonβ from 2013 album Stories Donβt End. Afterwards, Taylor told the crowd, βThis is my favorite part of the show..now Iβve just got to pick a song,β he smiled then started to play an acoustic βSt. Augustine At Nightβ from the 2020 album Good Luck With Whatever. They closed the second set with βAll Your Favorite Bands,β which is the title track for their 2015 album. The lyric βMay all your fav bands stay togetherβ¦β is a nod to how long the band members have been working and creating music together. Finally, Dawes wrapped up the evening with two encore songs: βFeed the Fireβ from 2018 Passwords and βEnough Alreadyβ from the new album. During the final song, Menear broke out the harmonica to end the night with a bang. Overall, Dawes created a lively and fun evening filled with dancing.
