At the end of 2013, it would be hard not to have Haim overload. The Southern California trio of sisters have gone from stage-stealing openers for artists like Ke$ha and Florence and the Machine to stars in their own right, gracing the stage of Saturday Night Live and getting fashion write-ups in the New York Times.
After their album Days Are Gone and its hydra-head of singles — “Forever“, “The Wire” and “Falling” — spread like wildfire, landing them on year-end lists as well as Top 40 radio, Este, Alana and Danielle Haim were nearly inescapable.
And with good reason: Days Are Gone is a record that has a little bit for every demographic synthesizing itself into a 44-minute thrill ride of influences ranging from Fleetwood Mac to Sheryl Crow to TLC. While those slick, pop sensibilities dominate the record, the group (along with drummer Dash Hudson) is an entirely different beast live, stripping away the gloss of the studio in favor of something more raw and personal.
Their very sold-out set Wednesday at the 9:30 Club, and Thursday, too, showcased the band’s endearing charm and charisma as the seemingly most agreed upon band in music. They ran through the majority of their debut over the course of both nights including their well-documented Fleetwood Mac cover of “Oh Well” as well as a few surprises in Beyonce’s “XO” and the mid-banter improv of Tenacious D’s juvenile hit “Double Team.” The CCR-indebted third act of “Honey and I” and the thundering drum off in “Let Me Go” showed Haim’s ability to flex their muscles and showcased each sister’s immense talent on their respective instruments.
For something that could have been a pre-rehearsed dump of a concert, that air of spontaneity was refreshing and at times inspiring. At Wednesday night’s show, there was a fairly large contingent of parents and their kids. While the raunchy playlist that prefaced the band’s set and the foul-mouthed banter from the stage probably led to a few explanations on the various trip back home, I don’t doubt they left with a few new heroes as well.
