One of the best parts about living in Atlanta, Georgia is the fact that practically every tour makes a stop here. There was no exception when it came time for Australian singer/songwriter Alex Lahey to tour her brand-new album, The Answer Is Always Yes.
Making a stop at the Masquerade, she performed in the smallest of the venue’s three rooms called Purgatory. This marks Lahey’s first headlining tour in North America since before the pandemic, and she dubbed this tour the “Good Time Tour” after the first track on the new album. The show sure was a good time.
Lahey brought New York based alternative-pop artist Liza Anna along as her support and her energy and relatable songs got the crowd warmed up. She performed songs off of her 2020 album Bad Vacation, along with several new songs, including her latest single ‘Cheerleader,’ released last month. She even let her drummer, up-and-coming alternative artist Allie, take the spotlight and perform one of her own songs for the audience, who all seemed to love it.
When it came time for Lahey to perform, there may have only been 50 people in the crowd (the capacity of the venue is only around 300), so it was a small show but this made it so much more intimate and personal for the artist and her fans. She didn’t let the size stop her and performed as if it was a packed house, with a full 14 song set.
Opening with ‘On the Way Down,’ Lahey performed eight of the 10 tracks from her new album, released just a few weeks prior. The only songs she left off the set were ‘Shit Talkin’’ and my personal favourite, ‘The Sky Is Melting.’ It was great getting to hear these songs live after having the album on repeat since its release. The songs were full of energy and emotion, and based on the reaction of the audience, you can tell everyone enjoyed the new album, already knowing all the words to these songs, which translated very well to a live atmosphere. Along with the new material, Lahey also played some older favourites such as ‘Every Day’s the Weekend’ and ‘Wes Anderson,’ the latter she stated that she doesn’t play live much anymore. She even threw in a fun cover of Natalie Imbruglia’s ’90s hit ‘Torn,’ calling it Australia’s National Anthem.
Lahey ended her set with an extremely powerful performance of the title track to The Answer Is Always Yes, followed by 2017’s ‘I Haven’t Been Taking Care of Myself.’ Overall, she put on a fun show that felt very personal and made everyone in the crowd feel lucky to have been there.
