It’s a Monday night at the Basement East in Nashville, TN, but the crowd buzzes with pent-up energy all the same. BENEE brought together a lively bunch that is clearly ready to dance along to the pop they know will soon be blasting through the speakers. When the house music goes off and the lights dim, the melodic sound of a harp begins to drift through the room. Slowly, the harp begins to transition. A deep bassline and sparkly synths join the strings. It is an intro that feels fit for a Disney princess and the club all at once, setting the tone for the rest of the show. BENEE dances onto the stage like she was born for it, starting with some of her heaviest hitters, “Sab Boi” and “Cinnamon” off her sophomore album, Ur an Angel I’m Just Particles. Despite her penchant for pop, she knows when to get vulnerable, sitting on the stage and getting eye-level for her more self-reflective songs like “Vegas.” While this is the Particle Tour, BENEE makes sure to play the hits, throwing things back to her earlier career with “Beach Boy.” It’s groovier than her more recent stuff, and the crowd indulges in the nostalgia of the sound. All around the room, pockets of friends hold onto each other, singing lyrics back and forth, creating their own microcosm amongst the crowd.
It is clear BENEE cares about the community she creates through her music, pointing to fans giving it their all and eventually taking a break in the set to hand out a homemade hair clip to one lucky concert-goer. She’s loose on stage, laughing, joking, and at times slipping into a southern accent to indulge the Nashville crowd. They love it. Her most entrancing moments come when she leans into the heavier guitar breakdowns. She headbangs, and twirls, and the crowd goes crazy for it all. It’s music that pays homage to the pop and rock princesses who have come before her, and BENEE finds a way to blend all the best parts of them to create her own, unique sound. As she approaches the end of the set, she leaves it all on the stage. It’s back-to-back fan favorites, and the room levitates when the opening notes of “Supalonely” spark through the room. It feels like the energy can’t get any higher until she plays “Green Honda.” The crowd sings every word back to her when she extends the mic to them, shaking the room. It’s the loudest the crowd has been the entire night, and the perfect note to end on. She leaves the stage with confidence, and the twinkling harp floats through the speakers once more, helping the crowd find equilibrium in the come down.
- Claire Cole
Photos Courtesy of GC Moorman (For Bell Music Magazine)
