Luce Loft is an event space located in downtown San Diego that hosts wedding receptions and small parties. Last Saturday night, it was an intimate music venue for the performance of Julianna Barwick, supported by musician Mark McGuire. The loft was set up with a couple rows of chairs and few more placed in its upper deck. Despite the small space, the venue became the most personal setting for an evening of music.

The venue cut the lights and small candles became the only source of light. The candles set up the mood nicely, along with the projection of the clouds up on the wall. Barwick quickly got started and began recording her vocals one by one, layering them to create her mesmerizing song “Offing.” The crowd sat still and silent until the last vocal recording faded away, and then responded with a loud, enthusiastic applause.

The event was focused less on the performance than the music that was created for that evening. However, watching Barwick work around her pitches was a spectacular performance in itself. She created an emotional experience through her music, one that could be appreciated even without any knowledge of her catalog. There are no lyrics to memorize as wordless vocals blur with one another. It was an experience that invited audiences to get lost in the music.

Thankfully, the crowd remained polite throughout the night. No side conversations occurred during the performance, which would have disrupted Barwick’s delicate music. No phones were seen in the air recording video footage. Everyone seemed to be focused on the beautiful music at hand. After having spent a great time in high-energy shows this year, Barwick’s performance was a great change of scene.

Also read: Katie Crutchfield brings intimate music to Che Cafe with side project

Photo courtesy of Shawn Brackbill