Ethel Cain Brings the Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour to The Rady Shell with Wednesday
As the sun set over downtown San Diego last Tuesday night, April 14th, The Rady Shell filled up with fans ready for the religious experience that is a live Ethel Cain show. Ethel Cain is the fictional character created by artist Hayden Anhedonia. The character exists within the Southern Gothic horror narrative she tells in her album Preacher’s Daughter. Her most recent album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, serves as a prequel to Preacher’s Daughter, continuing the themes of religious trauma, first loves and looming reality. She is known for her world building the haunting atmospheric sound to her music. The stage is set with moss hanging from above, vines surrounding the instruments and an elevated grassy spot center stage for the mic.
Opening the show for Ethel was North Carolina’s iconic indie rock band, Wednesday. Wednesday has been on tour for the past couple months for their newest album, Bleeds. Lead singer and guitarist Karly Hartzman draws huge inspiration from a connection to their home state that the band shares. Each band member was grinning ear to ear throughout the set, clearly having so much fun on stage together. Hartzman played a button-studded guitar and delivered mind blowing vocal flips and gritty screams during the song Townies. They warmed up the crowd with their infectious freeing energy and left the audience rumbling impatiently for Ethel to take the stage.
The screams of excitement and anticipation could probably be heard throughout downtown San Diego as the very first light dimmed to begin the show. She began the set with the haunting guitar and echoing vocals of an older song, Sunday Morning. There were already small sniffles heard throughout the crowd as many fans were already brought to tears by the deep and spiritual nature of her voice as she sings “You’ll still be alright, you’ll still be alright.” Right away she goes into one of her most popular and deeply loved songs, American Teenager, which the crowd knows so well that she can point the microphone out for a whole verse and have them screaming every single word. Every audience member is so in tune with the performance as they gasp, cry, clutch their hearts, and scream at the top of their lungs for a song based on just the very first note.
Throughout the setlist were a few songs from her album, Perverts, which is based heavily in drone music and ambient, drawn out atmospheric sounds. The songs served as a middle point in the setlist, before heading into the second half of the show. Ethel was met with roaring screams when announcing the song Gibson Girl, and sent gasps and shockwaves through the audience during the “final” song, A House in Nebraska. There was crying and choking sobs in the audience, but not for long as she returned for an encore performance of fan favorite Crush, and finally closing with Thoroughfare, taking her last few glances at the crowd as they sing together, “Cause love’s out there, and I can’t leave it be.”
The Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour is coming to an end this May for a final three dates at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma.