On March 29, 2019, two magnificent women from Portland took over The Ark, capturing the night with their unique sounds and instrumentation for a night of pure and magical music.
Lily Breshears, who usually tours with Haley Heynderickx in her band as the bassist and keyboardist, took the stage first with her synth, a harp (a rental, in replacement of her harp back home named Spreadsheet), and a mic. She opened with a song about the dysfunctional long distance relationship, but later countered it with her hymn about relationships that are so good, it makes you forget all the pain, or be thankful for it because it led to the present. Her song, “Pick Up Game,” combined basketball references and pick-up lines, and she ended with “Wet Plastic,” which should honestly be the anthem for the #MeToo movement. Breshears’s voice and her harp weaved together harmoniously, setting the stage with her stunning musical aura for her good friend to follow.
After a short break, the most charismatic and comedic musician came out to mesmerize her fans with her Portland accent. After some tuning, Haley Heynderickx first performed a song with Breshears to ease into her own solo show, though she summoned Breshears back to the harp for two more songs later in the set. Heynderickx captivated us with her songs from her “I Need To Start a Garden” album. From priest-like praying mantises and successful exes to the wonderful mantra “Oom Sha La La,” Heynderickx’s music combines the emotionally poignant with the humorously absurd, creating music that is both thought-provoking and meaningful. Her guitar techniques were truly mindblowing, and the strumming, plucking, and melodies complemented her voice perfectly. Heynderickx also performed some covers and even threw some impersonations in there. For her encore, she treated us to some new songs in the works, giving us a little teaser to be excited about for the future.
Heynderickx’s music features some of the most underrated, beautiful, and meditative singing and lyrics, and seeing her perform live, with her nerves and all, made for one of the best concerts I’ve been to. The two musicians’ personalities and styles fitted together perfectly, their gentle and soft-spoken manner drawing us in to listen carefully to the stories they are telling, making their musical styles even more compelling.
I’m so glad you were able to see a performer you admire so much! I’m gonna have to check out her music. Do you have a favorite song by her?
Her entire “I Need To Start a Garden” album is phenomenal. “Oom Sha La La” and “Bug Collector” are just wonderful though. As is “No Face.” And “Untitled God Song.” And all the other songs…just listen to the entire album and you won’t be sorry!