Sharon Van Etten and The Attachment Theory are a force at XPNFest

Leading up to this weekend, Sharon Van Etten had already spent some good quality time on stage in Philly this year. Alongside her band, The Attachment Theory, she helped us celebrate the 20th anniversary of Free At Noon with a sold-out performance at World Cafe Live in February, and then rolled back through Philadelphia to play another sold out show at Union Transfer on April 30th…all in support of the latest album, the self-titled “Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory.”

But as they say, third time’s a charm, and their Saturday night headlining set at XPNfest was utterly charmed. And bewitching. And fun!

On the heels of a lovely late summer sunset, the band took the stage garbed in all black; my favorite color!  Goth vibes?  Sure, but not amateur cartoony goth…this was a sophisticated, polished group of goths.  Grown up goth. Confident, professional goth. They looked GOOD.

Sharon and the band immediately began casting musical spells with guitars, synths, grooves and harmonies…opening with the self-titled album track “Live Forever,” moody and broody, building into a loud and powerful opening statement of what the evening would deliver. And Sharon wasn’t messing around. She went for and nailed the all high notes right off the bat. 

Post “Live Forever,” Sharon took a quick minute to greet the crowd with an enthusiastic statement of ““I love XPN, New Jersey and Philadelphia!”  Note that Van Etten is a Jersey native…that will come into play a bit later.

Up next, more from the new album with the song “Afterlife” followed by “Idiot Box,”  during which I was extra conscious of not being too conspicuous of the notes I was taking on my phone and trying to snag a couple quick photos/videos …I didn’t want to be “that guy” who was consumed by their “idiot box” during a concert instead of living in the moment of the show.  But I did have a job to do…to deliver this review…so it was a thoughtful and respectful use of technology in the name of “work”, instead of a blatant abuse of it. Ok, it’s decided, I wasn’t being a jerk. Phew! Moving on… 

The joyful interplay and chemistry of the band really started to emerge by this third song, with Sharon and bassist/backing vocalist Devra Hoff face-to-face to end the song, with their foreheads coming together, touching and lingering for a moment in a move that read as a sort of respectful bow to acknowledge each other’s talents. We’ll see moments like that throughout the show, with the performers checking in with one another and showing reverence for their bandmates. They’re genuinely enjoying their time on stage together, and it’s apparent.

Sharon sheds the guitar for the next one, “Comeback Kid,” which IMHO is as powerful of a hype anthem as “Eye of The Tiger,” just more suited for us indie rockers. It’s an especially charged performance of the song and Sharon gets visibly emotional. She goes on to share the song’s background…it’s personal.

As a young adult, temporarily defeated by the big bad grown-up world, she moved back home/back in with her parents in New Jersey.  She said she did so with her “tail between her legs,” but her parents were on board and supported her, though they gave her a few conditions for the arrangement. One: go back to school. Two: get a job. Three: go to therapy.

She did all three…and gratefully recounted those conditions as “good parenting” by mom and pop Van Etten, and then thanked her dad, who was there in the audience with us.  By the way, the job was one that her brother got her at a liquor store in Perryville, New Jersey. A Jersey crowd always loves a good Jersey reference.

Things then got synth heavy and dance-y with “I Can’t Imagine (Why You Feel This Way)” followed by “Somethin’ Ain’t Right,” a couple more from the 2025 album; during which a full-on dance party broke out in the crowd just to my right. Sharon was doing some dancing of her own, including a few basic but charming coordinated moves with keyboard player/guitarist/backup vocalist Teeny Lieberson…the moves felt very Talking Heads-esque in nature.  And maybe I’m onto something here, as they occurred during a song that ends with the line “same as it ever was,” another Talking Heads nugget. I’m here for it!

Next was “Southern Life,” another from the new album, and at this point in the set I am ready to pledge my full undying allegiance to the church of SVE&TAT. Whatever Sharon and the band are conjuring on the stage is undeniable, and I am ALL IN. Dramatic and impassioned, and it sounds SO good.  Surveying the crowd around me, I’m not the only one. Between songs, Sharon acknowledges the gorgeous weather enhancing the evening, commenting “this weather is like perfect drama,” and we were all feeling it.

Sharon returns to the keyboard for “Trouble,” a slow burner from the new album with a huge groove…followed by “No One’s Easy To Love,” a personal favorite from 2019’s “Remind Me Tomorrow.”

Sharon’s guitar came back out for “Anything“ from 2022’s We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, with the droning at the tail end of the song segueing directly into “Serpents,” a guitar-forward song with propelling drums (that bring to mind the style of Scott Devendorf from The National, which makes sense, as the album it’s from, Tramp, was produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner; Aaron and his twin brother Bryce perform on the studio recording as well) If you were hoping for a rock show, consider that itch sufficiently scratched.

Up next, a reworked version of “Every Time The Sun Comes Up,” one that lends itself better to dancing than the studio cut.  I’ve heard this version a few times before, and it lands nicely in the live setting. The crowd is happily moving and grooving along. “Jupiter 4” follows, a song appropriately named for a synthesizer…. it’s plodding and powerful.

After warning us there are a mere two songs left in the performance, Sharon intros the “Jersey-est” song in her catalogue, “Seventeen,” a musical conversation with her younger self.  She makes impactful connections with individual audience members by deliberately pointing and making eye contact from the stage…delivering the peak lines crouched down singing (belting) directly at a single young female audience member in the front row, as if she were singing to her seventeen-year-old self. It’s incredibly powerful.

Onto the final song, and it’s an emotional heavy hitter…a big ‘ol wallop, “I Want You Here.” A song about love and connection, opening up even in our most vulnerable and low moments. A couple tears snuck up on me, as did a sweeping appreciation for the connection of the people I was surrounded by in that moment, and in life in general. A weekend celebrating community and music, it was very much a “damn, it feels good to be alive” kind of reflective moment.

The final song grows and evolves into a jam in the latter half, not the traditional kind of jam we got with War’s set at the festival the night before, but a triumphant noisy indie rock jam just the same. So satisfying. 

We clap, and cheer our hearts out, and the band leaves the stage.  I lingered one more minute to soak in the vibes before heading up the hill and towards the exit and my car, where a post-show snack awaits.  All the pros stash snacks in their car for the ride home.  But wait…the lights don’t come up…none of my colleagues are hitting the stage to say, “thank you all, goodnight.”  Could it be?  An encore!  YES!  In festival settings an encore isn’t a given with strict timelines and curfews and whatnot…so this was a genuine surprise.

A short and sweet performance of the self-titled album cut “Indio,” chock full of post-punk vibes; upbeat and fun…an unexpected but awesome way to end the night. 

Stock your car with a couple granola bars or Rice Krispies Treats (for your post show snack tonight), and we’ll see you back at Wiggins Park for Day 3!  Something tells me it’s going to be charmed, too.