sign crushes motorist at Le Poisson Rouge: Concert Recap
By Alexandra Henriques
Photographed by Alexandra Henriques
sign crushes motorist; alexandra henriques
On July 2nd, sign crushes motorist, along with Olivia O. and Casper Hill, brought their sound to Le Poisson Rouge, a 700-person capacity venue in Lower Manhattan. Le Poisson Rouge, stylized as LPR, is an independent multimedia cabaret that has hosted the likes of Plain White T’s, Charli XCX and Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. Upon entrance, concertgoers go down a flight of stairs where it is likely that the performers sit at merch tables to greet fans. During their set, Liam McCay, the artist behind sign crushes motorist, announced that all profits from merch were going to a Palestinian relief fund. This was amazing to hear, especially considering that independent artists often rely on merch profits as income.
Casper Hill, a New York-based band, brought energy to juxtapose the mellow sound of sign crushes motorist. They had an incredible sound, with a full band to create amazing acoustics. The harmonies between their two lead vocalists, Patrick and Molly, were beautiful. As their set progressed, they became more comfortable on stage, jumping around, making silly faces at the audience, and joking with the audience. Their set lasted about half an hour, and when they left the stage, they walked through the audience, where I found out their drummer was literally from my hometown. All of the band members were so down-to-earth and appreciative that it made it hard not to fall in love with the band.
Lowertown’s Olivia Osby, who stylizes her solo career as Olivia O., performed after, and she was hauntingly dreamy. Her set began with a pre-recorded chant of a distorted voice counting to seven as she tuned her guitar, which was a captivating start. When she needed to tune her guitar in the middle of her set, another pre-recorded chant repeated, “What do you know about anything?” while the audience shouted, “Nothing!” Olivia O. showcased her vocal range with high notes, and seamlessly transitioned to full-body belting during some of her unreleased songs, which are expected to be on her upcoming album, No Bones, Sickly Sweet, out November 1st. She joked that we were “such a fun crowd for such a depressing show,” which held true throughout the concert. Overall, her set was unique and engrossing, which hooked me on her music!
Around 9:30, sign crushes motorist came out on stage. The whole band was very laid back, which amplified the mellow sound of their music. While sign crushes motorist uses some electronic elements in their recorded music, such as synths, they forwent those sounds and performed stripped-back versions of their songs. Additionally, Liam McCay has many projects other than sign crushes motorist, and he showed those projects much love. Take Care, Birth Day, and Dead Calm songs were all featured on the setlist, though he has many other projects, such as Manta, miserable teens club, Make His Ribs Show, hold, and Roaming. Considering McCay is only 19, this collection is even more impressive.
McCay kept the energy up, even with the slow, depressing sound of his music. Before he played “theres this girl,” he said, “As you all know, I’m a massive feminist, so shoutout all the ladies here!” Plus, he encouraged the audience to dance around and enjoy the music.
Overall, it was an amazing concert. While sign crushes motorist is no longer touring the United States, I recommend looking out for their next tour.
Casper Hill, Olivia O. and sign crushes motorist, along with McCay’s side projects, can all be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Bandcamp.
