Audrey Hobert, known for onstage theatrics like bouncing on a mini trampoline during her sets, stripped things back for her first Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Music's Washington, D.C. headquarters, performing five tracks from her debut album, Who's The Clown?, JamBase reported. The set landed just two days before the record's first anniversary on August 15.
"This is the only thing I wanted for this album, this is it," Hobert said after opening with "Shooting Star." She was backed by guitarist Ricky Gourmet, who played a major role in making Who's The Clown?, along with keyboardist Lana Drincic, guitarist and banjo player Hayley Briasco, bassist Andrew Pham, drummer Cameron Allen and multi-instrumentalist Steven Brickman.
Hobert's set leaned on the wit and vulnerability that have become hallmarks of her songwriting, including "Phoebe," a track about the Friends character played by Lisa Kudrow, despite Hobert admitting she has seen "all but one and a half seasons" of the show. Her background in screenwriting showed through on that song and "Sex and the City" before the set closed with "Sue Me," a song Hobert called a hit "with time," and one that recently entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 90, her first appearance on the chart.
The Tiny Desk set follows an earlier report on Hobert's Tiny Desk booking and arrives as the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter closes out the first year of Who's The Clown?'s release with a genuine chart milestone attached to the record's momentum.
The taping caps a busy stretch on the road for Hobert, who is currently opening a run of Lorde's European tour dates, including stops in Leeds, Ingliston and Bristol, before her own headlining shows pick back up in Brooklyn and Chicago this fall.
The facts
- Tiny Desk Concert performed two days before the first anniversary of Who's The Clown?
- Set included the song "Sue Me," which recently entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 90
- Backed by a six-person band including guitarist Ricky Gourmet
- Currently opening a run of Lorde's European tour dates
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