Concert Review: Bruno Major’s Impassioned Roadrunner Performance

After a six year touring hiatus, Bruno Major is back to present an all encompassing performance that is defined by meaningful ambiance and jazzy soul searching.

With the release of his newest album “Columbo” on July 21, Major’s setlist was mostly dedicated to the live unveiling of songs from this album. However, after Covid-19 prevented him from touring the 2020 album “To Let a Good Thing Die,” the concert became a two-in-one, celebrating this new journey of “Columbo” while paying homage to the sound and persona Major created three years ago.

To open the show, singer and songwriter Lindsey Lomis dazzled the crowd singing a few songs from her discography, including several tracks from her EP “Universe,” released earlier this year. Her vibrant and enthusiastic presence made for a warm welcome, and songs like “Universe” and “Bad News/Good News” were full of pure fun. Watching her perform is refreshing, and her music feels like the acoustic embodiment of girlhood; she discussed how one of the songs she performed was inspired by a short-lived airport romance.

When it was time for Major’s set, two spherical symbols were cast onto the stage like a bat symbol. The images were the covers of his last two albums, abstract spherical designs representing the solar system and a crashed car. The stark contrast of the projected art was reflected in the differing sound from each album, yet these differences complemented each other, as they both contained the emotional core that is the foundation of Major’s music.

Major’s silky-smooth voice deserves attention. Hearing him live is an entirely different experience than listening to his recordings. As he stood in front of the microphone, guitar in hand, the atmosphere was vulnerable, emotional, and intimate. He played with every syllable as he sang, skillfully utilizing crescendos and whispers. His lyrics were clear and crisp, which is important since so much of his artistry can be found in the poetry he writes in his verses.

In addition to his words, he let the music speak for itself, stepping away from the microphone to play guitar through intense breaks in the music while bathing the audience in warm colored lighting. He also made sure the audience could hear every part of his score, highlighting his pianist, drummer, background vocalists, and bass player with spotlights and letting them come alive with their own solos.

As a piano solo, Major performed one of his standout songs. The piece, he explained, was an imagined version of something a drunk Chopin would write. This song, “A Strange Kind of Beautiful,” was mysterious and heavenly, as his vocals collapsed into the legato of the piano. Hovered over the piano, concentrating on the rapid striking of the keys, he evoked a classical sound, and he appeared lost in his own mesmerizing composition.

He also sang many fan favorites, including songs like “Tell Her,” “Regent’s Park,” and “Nothing.” His performances of these songs were sincere and candid, as he confronted deep and romantic subject material. His live rendition of “Wouldn’t Mean a Thing,” single handedly revived chivalry, as he sung lyrics like “I could find the buried treasure of ancient kings, but it wouldn't mean a thing without you,” with a dreamy look in his eye.

Major took the opportunity to restart songs a couple of times, ensuring he delivered them exactly as he intended and showing the intentionality behind creating this experience.

Major has perfected the bittersweet tone. The title song of his new album “Columbo,” which he joked was inspired by a car he crashed, is used to create a metaphor about losing things, yet being left with the memory of them. Another song from the album, “We Were Never Really Friends,” followed this theme as it bounced between an anticipated build up that eventually sunk with the bluntness of the repeated lyric “‘cause we were never really friends.”

After the audience demanded an encore from Major, he performed a popular song from his first album “A Song for Every Moon” entitled“Easily.” The softness and grooviness of the song seemed to wrap the concert up nicely, but Major had another surprise up his sleeve.

Finally, he transitioned into a powerful performance of the instrumental track “The End,” from “Columbo.” Passionately playing this bright, harsh, electric, sound on his guitar while vocalizing, he stood gloriously as confetti cannons went off. The energy from his concert was unbelievable and his raw presentation of his albums illustrate the out-of-world experience that occurs when confronted with an artist’s music face-to-face. Major met and surpassed every expectation, leaving only one question: When is he dropping the live album?

—Staff writer Makayla I. Gathers can be reached at makayla.gathers@thecrimson.com.