NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
How does a pop artist release an album in 2019, go through the pandemic and come out even more popular than she was going in? That’s exactly what happened to Caroline Polachek. It seems that album “Pang” resonated with the public and brought her a huge following for her electro-dream dance pop. It’s been a tough 18 months for Polachek, who lost her father to covid last year. Getting back on stage to perform in front of fans was a re-learning process. I happened to be in Nashville for Thanksgiving week and was glad to catch her at Cannery Ballroom on the Nashville stop of her Heart Is Unbreaking Tour.
Opening for Polachek was French DJ/producer/singer Oklou (aka Marylou Mayniel). She recently released an EP “galore anniversary” (10/13/21) and her style is similar to Polachek’s (in my opinion) but without Polachek’s magnetic stage presence. That being said, she played a dreamy set, including a re-mix of Evanescence’s “Going Under”, that really put us in the right mood for the rest of the evening.
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With the stage in complete darkness, Caroline Polachek took the stage. She sang and danced her way through flashing lights and smoke, showing the elegant lines that scream “dancer”. Included in the set was a wonderful cover of “Surrender” by the Corrs but the guitar solo in the middle of “Billions” felt like it came out of nowhere. The biggest cheers were for “Ocean of Tears”, “Caroline Shut Up”, and “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings”, all off of her last album. The encore started with a cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” as a duet with Oklou, sung back to back as they rotated and danced in unison. Polachek ended the night with “Door” and we really wanted the show to continue.
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