Jeremy Zucker at the Vic Theatre.
Call it immaculate emo-boy vibes, call it sad-boy energy — Jeremy Zucker makes us feel all the emotions under the sun on is nothing sacred? The Tour (2023).
taken by Toby Chan.
American singer-songwriter, Jeremy Zucker—best known for hit singles “come thru” and “you were good to me”—performed at the Vic Theatre here in Chicago on November 14th. It was a memorable night filled with punky punches, sentimental sing-alongs, and a cute cover of Phoebe Bridgers’ “Kyoto,” which was hilariously paired with a video of a paper cut-out of Zucker flying around the world. Although his setlist included more than 20 songs spanning his entire discography—it is a pity that he did not perform one of our personal favorites, the nostalgic summer banger “18”—the end of the concert left us wanting more.
What sets Zucker apart is his bold, unmatched command of emotion—creating a feeling so vulnerable and intimate, as if an old friend was inviting you into his room to air his unspoken thoughts. Zucker’s masterclass in emotion and expressiveness is crafted from his highly impressive versatility of range, genre, and vocals. It uniquely enables Zucker to create and pair each sentiment in his songs with a custom sound profile. We were vaulted between the remorse of acoustic versions, the pure rage of quasi-punk rock edits, and the gentle self-doubt of whisper songs throughout the concert. The combination of such diverse musical styles felt like raw, episodic previews into the range of thoughts that race around Zucker’s mind. It was a wild ride that hits close to home, and it’s also a ride in which we don’t want to get off.
With great vocals and an engaging stage presence, Zucker was on the top of his game. Playing both guitar and piano during the night, Zucker is the type of multi-talented artist who excels at being both quiet and intimate on tracks like “this is how you fall in love” and “you were good to me”—shout-out to Chelsea Cutler!—but can also deliver the energy and excitement for crowd-pleasers such as “supercuts” and “OK,” which actually sounded bigger than the recorded version thanks to the increased presence of live drums.
taken by Toby Chan.
In fact, we felt all of his songs were enhanced when performed live. Additions to the recorded version were refreshing, and the dynamic range was expanded, which allowed both the quieter and louder moments to hit harder. The production on this tour was the perfect mix between professional and authentic—with enough backing and rehearsal to exceed studio level quality, but not too much as to wipe away the raw, unvarnished character which we cherish.
Some personal highlights from the night include “better off”’s bittersweet guitar melody in the chorus, the group sing-along during “come thru,” and his overall vocal performance in general. We have always been a fan of his unique vocal tone and color, which we find to be raspy and gentle at the same time—the voice of someone who has been crying all night after pouring their heart out to the person they love most.
Call it immaculate emo-boy vibes, call it sad-boy energy — we like to say he can make us feel any emotion under the sun, and on this tour, we felt connected like we were his closest friends.
edited by Joseph Mooney, Editor-in-Chief.
photos by Toby Chan.
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