Concert Reviews (317)

• October 27, 2026
• Colleen Johnson
• 3
• 0

---

“Thank you, Future Teens. I was watching them, like, ‘Julien, you’re doing your best.” These were the first words out of Julien Baker’s mouth, about thirty minutes into their set last Wednesday night. A show that kicked off their unimaginable three-night stand at the much-loved, longtime music venue, the Mid East Club in Cambridge.  While interactions with the crowd still came through out the set, to be honest, most were off-mic and could only be heard by the first few rows, whose laughter was enough to hold over the rest of the room. 

Those in attendance weren’t there to experience some witty banter; they were clearly there for the music, and that’s what was needed in the room that night. It was something Future Teens’ Amy Hoffmann commented on as well, saying, “You guys are going to be so respectful that it’s scary.” Before I get ahead of myself, though, jumping into the night, these shows were long-anticipated. To give a sense of how intimate these shows were, and how special it was to be in the room for the first of three performances Baker would be putting on this week, both of Baker’s compatriots in Boygenius have had recent performances in Boston. Lucy Dacus recently took on MGM Fenway (capacity being just around 5,000 people), and Bridgers performed two sold-out nights at TD Garden earlier this month. 

It was a show of human connection, as the room filled in during Future Teens’ opening set; a lot of the audience seemed in awe of the intimacy of the room. The Middle East is one of, if not the oldest, venues in the Boston area, and the downstairs room only fills in at around 500 in capacity. For those who haven’t had the chance to catch a show there, it’s a subterranean room that has definitely seen better days, but the history and long list of shows that have gone down there are mind-blowing. Please never change. And the latest to join that long list? The magical night that ensued last Wednesday evening. 

Kicking off the show were long-time Boston stalwarts, the aforementioned Future Teens. The band has been active for years,  but their tunes have transformed into something that definitely doesn’t remind you of their early years. The level of performance, talent, and clear veteran experience created a perfect opening set for what was to come. The band is fresh off their latest release, Still Life (released May 8th, via Take This to Heart Records), and new tunes were present throughout the set. The band will be doing a run of shows early next month with Spanish Love Songs along the Northeast; those dates can be found here! 

Just a half hour or so after Future Teens left the stage, a slow instrumentation teased out  Baker’s band for the show coming to the stage, to the roars of those in attendance. For the performance, Baker seemingly was setting up her own loops as well as her bandmates for each song, which made for a big buildup into each song, starting the pace with the first track of the night, “Lathe,” and never looked back. As Baker quickly moved into the second track of the night, “High In the Basement,” it was the first of many songs to come that night that were unreleased tracks. A hint to a future album to come for Baker, whose last solo record was back in 2021 with Little Oblivions. Obviously, Baker has clearly been busy, putting out the latter Grammy-winning Boygenius album, the record, as well as non-stop touring, be it solo, with her collaborative partner Torres, and the list just goes on. 

It’s what made these shows so special. While the set was obviously filled with big tracks off Little Oblivions, a strong majority of the set was unreleased music; in addition to “High in the Basement,” fans were also treated to “Gethsemane” and “O (Don’t Waste Your Words” 

As we hit around the thirty-minute mark of the set, Baker jumped into a slew of tracks off their 2021 record, leading it off with “Bloodshot,” immediately electrifying the crowd, and serving as the first time Baker spoke to the crowd. Saying, “Thank you for clapping,” which was quickly followed by, “I’m real fortunate this is still my job.” This before pivoting straight into “Ringside, “ and “Favor” back to back. Throughout these moments and honestly throughout the set as mentioned before, Baker refrained from speaking into the microphone to the general room, but the first few rows could be heard giggling throughout at things Baker was saying while working out the songs, and it was incredibly charming. 

At this point, after Baker barreled through a good chunk of the album, it is when a few crowd members started to straggle out of the venue. Big mistake, as Baker progressed into the second half of the set, offering up the previously talked-about new tracks, as well as ending the main set on “Hardline.” The band briefly took a reprieve from the stage before returning swiftly for the encore. One that included Baker sweetly saying, “I couldn’t do this without you,” before jumping into the final track of the night, choosing a serious deep cut with “Everybody Does”. 

The track ended in an absolute shred-fest, immediately bringing to mind a former cult favorite band in New Highway Hymnal, who could never let a set be over until they were crawling all over the floor with their instruments. Something I was privy to see Boygenius culminate in, during the last song of their first headline gig in Boston at Suffolk Downs back in June of 2023. So it was only fitting to have this incredibly special night end in such a perfect way for the first gig of the week for Julien at Middle East. Baker fittingly ended the third show too, according to their Instagram, with a sold-out show in the Downstairs and immediately vacating the venue to run next door to join the pit for the also sold-out show in the Upstairs that Have Heart was performing. Because, of course, Baker is the epitome of rock and roll. Even if they’re playing an intimate acoustic moment, Baker oozes rock and roll in every way, and it was an honor to be there to see that in real life. Without the bells and whistles, just straight-up rock and roll.

---

Photos – Julien Baker, Future Teens at Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA on October 21st: (All photos by John Hutchings)