You never know what you’re going to get from an indie concert. Is the band going to stand on stage blank-faced the whole time? Possibly. Will the elusive singer-songwriter break out of her shell to mutter a few words about upcoming projects? We can only hope. Will there be a ridiculous amount of six-foot-tall men in beanies who probably haven’t showered in five days? It’s almost guaranteed.
But one thing was for certain at No Vacation’s Feb. 8 show at The Sinclair in Cambridge: it was a lot of fun.
The evening began with an opening set from French Cassettes, a San Francisco band formed in 2013 with a classic 2015 indie-rock sound. While lead singer Scott Huerta was incapacitated by an injured leg, his confinement to a center-stage bar stool did nothing to impede his stage presence. He enjoyed joking around with the audience and bandmates. Halfway through the set, he introduced “a song we’re working on right now,” but only seconds after the count-in, the band had to restart. “What can I say? We’re working on it. We meant we’re gonna work on it right now,” he joked. After a second count-in, guitarist Mackenzie Bunch jumped in with the hook, and they were off.
They closed out their set with what became my favorite song of theirs, “Utah.” With the song’s easygoing harmonies and simple yet playful lyrics that characterize the rest of their 2023 “Rolodex” album, French Cassettes wrapped up their performance. Senior Arts and Culture editor and proud San Franciscan Phoebe Grandi, who got the press passes and joined me for the concert, is a recent Utah transplant and particularly enjoyed this song.
After a short intermission, No Vacation took the stage, kicking their set off with the timely “Sad Valentine” from their 2015 album, “Summer Break Mixtape.” Bassist Nat Lee set the tone of the evening as they hopped around to the music in their shiny white six-inch platform boots. Meanwhile, lead singer Sab Mai showed their range as a performer and vocalist as they shifted from the floaty, gentle tones heard in “Lovefool” to the deeper, shadowy colors of “How.”
No Vacation’s original music features bedroom and dream pop influences with lyricism addressing themes of shame, alienation, loneliness and anger in words simple enough to sing along to. Not all of their songs are sad, though, and their discography manages these themes with an even balance of the mellow and the upbeat. Nevertheless, their four covers of The Cranberries are, in my opinion, the secret gem of their recorded music. No Vacation performed “Waltzing Back,” one of their most popular songs among fans, and by the time the set had reached “How,” the crowd was jumping and dancing to the breakneck tempo. While they did not fulfill my hope of hearing their cover of The Cranberries’ “I Will Always” live, they compensated for the disappointment when they pulled out “Linger,” my personal favorite of their covers, for the encore.
The impression that has lingered (pun intended) with me the most after this concert is that No Vacation knows how to put on a fun show. The band members are not only musicians but also performers. Closing out “Days” with a guitar jam, bassist Nat, who had switched to the violin, leaped into the audience and crowd-surfed while continuing to play. Sab danced around the stage all evening while singing and playing electric guitar, and guitarist Harrison Spencer held nothing back when he launched into his riffs and solos. The band clearly enjoys playing music with each other and entertaining a live audience.
About an hour into their set, No Vacation played their soft and relatively primitive “August” and then left the stage. The audience, knowing that they could not end what had been such an exciting show with such an understated song, chanted, “One more song!” until the band reemerged for an encore. But instead of one song, No Vacation gave us three. Nat, Sab and Harrison huddled center-stage as they began the intro to “Linger.” After a much-awaited “Yam Yam,” a guy in baggy jeans and a black sweatshirt held up a small sign to the band reading, “Can I play?” Sab helped him onto the stage and handed him their guitar. He fiddled with the strings for a moment until James Shi counted in on the drums and the guest guitarist launched into the opening riff of “Dræm Girl.” This surf rock anthem brought the evening full circle, reminding us of the set’s first song from the same “Summer Break Mixtape.”
I’ve been to plenty of indie concerts, but No Vacation genuinely surprised me. Their live music did not match but far surpassed the quality of their recorded music. If I had the opportunity, I would buy tickets to see them live again in a heartbeat. As I fought my way out of the venue that night, it was clear that I was not the only person who felt this way. The crowd was bustling and giddy from the electrifying performances by the two San Francisco bands. French Cassettes and No Vacation brought some much-needed West Coast chill to Boston’s restless drivers and sleep-deprived students.
