NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
Australian singer/songwriter Julia Jacklin first caught our attention when she released her sophomore studio album “Crushing”. Her live performance of “Don’t Know How to Keep Loving You” at the Paste Studio in 2019 is so achingly good, way more emotional and heartbreaking than the studio version. After she released her third studio album “Pre-Pleasure” in 2022, she embarked on a global tour in support of that record. Luckily for us, she then announced a 2023 North American Tour which was just two days old before she stopped by Asbury Hall in Buffalo.
Opening the evening’s festivities was Black Belt Eagle Scout (aka Katherine Paul) from her native Swinomish Indian lands in the Pacific Northwest. Accompanied only by an electric guitar, BBES started a bit shaky, with a few vocals that sounded a bit sharp, but soon found her groove. She made great use of a looper to handle background vocals at times. And just as I started to wonder why she didn’t play an acoustic guitar rather than an electric, there came the fuzzy guitar sounds. The guitar solo on the last song, which incorporated some psychedelic tones, showcased Paul’s guitar work. Plus it turns out that she’s a really good drummer too! Is there anything this woman can’t do?
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Julia Jacklin stepped onto the stage in an ankle length jean skirt, very much a modest look. But she’s the kind of performer who’s voice does all the work, her expressive live vocals inducing emotions that cannot be replicated on a studio album. While the venue was only around half full, every fan was enraptured. Unlike most other shows where there’s constant talking going on around you, this audience was quiet and hung on Jacklin’s every word and lyric.
She kicked off the show with three straight songs off her latest record “Pre-Pleasure”: “Love, Try Not to Let Go”, “Be Careful With Yourself”, and “Moviegoer”. Besides “To Perth…” and “Eastwick” (turns out this song was written about the media landscape after Steve Irwin’s passing), both one-off singles, the setlist was comprised of almost all songs from “Pre-Pleasure” and her sophomore LP “Crushing”.
Jacklin spoke only briefly between some songs but when she did speak to the audience, she was very humble and self-deprecating, with just a touch of humor. After she sang “Body”, she joked that the next song would be another party number. It was “Turn Me Down”! She also commented about the chimes that she used for just one song. Turns out it was a replacement set as someone had stolen the first set after the Nashville show. I’m not sure if the tape on her guitar that says “Julia’s Guitar” was a joke but it did make me laugh.
After the ever emotional “Don’t Know How to Keep Loving You”, she indicated that she was going to play three more songs, “wink wink”, and then come back for one more. True to her word, after a lively performance of “Pressure to Party”, she led the audience on a chant of “Encore! Encore!”. Never leaving the stage, she actually changed the encore song based on a request someone had made during the show! Thus we were able to witness her play “Don’t Let the Kids Win” for the first time in quite awhile. What an way to end such an amazing show! We look forward to perhaps some new music next year and a subsequent tour. In the meantime, check out here wonderful music when you get a chance.
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