We had high expectations for Baby Smith at Privatclub. Their debut, Lately, Love Is Dead, had us talking about every single song in our review, and we were very ready to hear those voices live. We could have set our expectations even higher and they’d still have exceeded them.
It was the final night of the tour, and Ray Sonder and Saxon Gable were home in Berlin, playing to a sold-out room. Privatclub was hot, packed and steamy, and everyone around us seemed completely taken by them. There was a sense of friendship and togetherness in the room that felt particularly fitting for the occasion. What a way to come home.
Ray and Saxon’s voices blended every bit as beautifully as they do on the record, with the keyboardist and drummer joining in at times to make that sound even fuller. Behind them, the keys and synths were wonderfully smooth, the drums very, very tasty, and Saxon’s guitar sounded lovely through its pedalboard. We couldn’t see any pedals on Ray’s bass, which only made us more curious about how she got that tone. Because, whatever they were doing, it was right.
The songs also had a little more weight to them live. Hearing their rock roots come through gave us another side of the music we’d been so happily living with on the album. When “Lately, Love Is Dead” arrived, already our favourite, Ray and Saxon brought out a choreographed routine we absolutely did not see coming. One of our highlights of the night, made even better.
Alongside the album, the set included “Kurt” and “Cry” from their earlier EPs. And just as we were getting comfortable with the idea that we’d have these songs to keep us company for a while, they closed with an unreleased track, teasing new music for the coming year. We’re listening.
We left with our minds blown, and we could hear people around us saying the same thing: Baby Smith are going to be big. They have the songs, they’re incredible live, and they know how to bring a room together. This feels like one of those shows we’ll get to mention years from now:
“Oh, Baby Smith? We saw them when they played Privatclub.”
There was a whole film crew recording the set, too. We’re rather eager to see what they cooked up.
All images were taken by Pablo Iriarte with the permission of the artist and venue and are subject to copyright.
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