What started out as a low-key, quiet Tuesday night at Great Scott soon turned into a high-energy and memorable evening when Reni Lane hit the stage excited to be playing her first Boston show. After beckoning the crowd to come forward and sit on chairs that she had cleverly arranged at the front of the stage, Reni delivered a set of stripped-down, rawer versions of her songs. Keeping the show, fun, danceable, and smile-inducing from start to finish, the energetic redhead switched back and forth between guitar and keyboard, and on more than one occasion left the stage to dance among her crowd of new fans.
Evoking dreamscapes with haunting, drawn-out notes, Civil Twilight transfixed the audience as they closed out the night. Richard Wouter’s escalating drums blended with Andrew McKellar’s guitar, which at times quivered and reverberated as he ran a bow across it. The live rendition of “Human” was especially memorable, as Steven, the other McKellar, sealed the performance with emotion-driven vocals while also straddling the bass and keyboards. A memorable night for those who braved the wind and rain to see it.