Yebba played Brooklyn Paramount (Night 2)

Yebba played two nights at Brooklyn Paramount in support of her new album Jean.

On her first ever headlining tour, the blue-eyed soul and R&B singer made her lush songs feel deeply intimate even when her vocal prowess didn't seem up to the challenge. Walking out to a mostly dark stage, Yebba spent the night hidden in the shadows, her face barely visible behind the dark lighting, all of which came from behind, leaving her a bit of a mystery as her shadow moved across the stage in the outline of her silhouette. From the floor, the crowd cheered for her to belt her songs and showoff her impressive vocals, but for the first few numbers, it was actually a bit of a challenge to hear the singer and it seemed as if she was letting the crowd and her own back-up singers do the actual delivery of the songs. A few songs into the set, Yebba addressed the crowd and remarked at how thankful she was to have such dedicated fans. Still in the dark, she talked about her first show ten years earlier in New York at Mercury Lounge when fans showed up to see her when she only had a single song and how her albums were all written and recorded in the city, a place she now feels most at home. As she went into "Evergreen," the crowd roared and once again sang back to her with an overpowering response. It was strange to see her appear to be so engaged and still hidden in darkness, especially as those around me continue to clamor for her to really sing and let it out, a vibe that felt totally opposite from what I was experiencing in the moment. When she did decide to commit, her vocals did soar and she excelled, but it felt like those times were few and far between. After a fan needed medical attention during "Yellow Eyes," she returned to the stage and decided for another older song that helped recover the energy a bit, but still felt sluggish. "This is my emo shit so let me have it" she exclaimed before "Earth, Wind, & California" which boomed into probably her strongest showing of the night, but still one that didn't totally deliver on all expectations. A rather perplexing night, there were hints of stardom, but the majority of the night felt lackluster and just off, a strange experience for an artist on the cusp of reaching new levels of fame and one that didn't feel totally up for the challenge.