Gallery and Review by Gabriel Hoff
Feb 10, 2026I’ve never been quite as immersed and comforted at a show before. The unique energy Big Thief brought to The Anthem came in waves, hitting all of us. There was a mixture of laughing, crying, and light moshing that carried their performance all the way to the back of the room. It let everyone see the scars, blemishes, and humanity in every note they played. As someone who doesn't usually shed a tear at shows, I'll admit I was close to crying multiple times. Whether it was the urgency in Vampire Empire, the impermanence of Incomprehensible, or the topical and emotional crescendos in Beautiful World, I felt what it meant to me, and what it meant to them. That universality is difficult to create, and it's the anchor for Big Thief's sound and direction.
Going into this show I thought I knew what I was in for, after all Big Thief’s been around since I was 8. I’ve been familiar with front-woman Adrianne Lenker’s beautiful songwriting and celebrated solo discography. I knew that guitarist Buck Meek would support their louder sections, and accent their quiet ones. It wasn't surprising to me that drummer James Krivchenia was going to lay the strong, simple, and impressive foundation for every song. But at the end of the night it was more than just the individual talent that surprised me.
The last song they played was an unreleased song called Beautiful World. Adrianne described it as “feeling right” to play, or something close to that. I've decided she was completely correct. It's mix of indie rhythm guitar and topical, vulnerable, and human lyrics made it eerily reminiscent of early Arcade Fire. In the verses she explores chaos, calm, and impermanence. It feels urgent, accepting, angry, hopeless, and hopeful, all at once, and all separately. Big Thief plays off this tension both lyrically and musically to create a song that will sit in people's minds, and maybe be remembered as one of the defining songs of this decade, if it's ever released.
It can be hard to live at all, especially right now, but this song and its lyrics have been an anchor in my day-to-day life. It's beautiful that something so fleeting, so imperfect, something that was made by just a couple of people in a room, can remind me to find the beauty that sits in front of me every day.
During the last verse and chorus, Adrianne belts out this series of words:
Standing there feeling tripped out
And just wanting to cry
And that disconnected sharpness where everything is dry
I hear the ratchet of the call
Two wheels turning in the dirt
An old man on his bicycle, out of nowhere
He gets down and he comes over and says
I said, “It’s nice to meet you, Bob.”
And then I took his hand and shook
It’s a beautiful world
Why must everything be conquered?
But it, it’s so beautiful
And I’m riding to the center of
This fucked-up world
Why must everything be conquered?
But it, it’s so beautiful
And I’m riding to the center of it
I think in that moment, standing in the back of The Anthem, standing with my friends, standing with my camera, my brain, my mistakes, standing with the weight of the world–taught me one thing: find the beauty that sits and waits, lurks behind a corner, or is sitting right in front of you on a stage. I think that message, those memories, and that moment will stick with me for a long time.
You can find the exact version of Beautiful World I heard here.