Tall Heights @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
by Juliette Paige
2018-08-27
Tall Heights
in support of Cake and Ben Folds
August 13th, 2018 at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
When the forecasts say 100% chance of rain and thunder, the logical thing to do would be to stay indoors for a calm night, but five thousand people thought otherwise and gathered at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion to see Cake, Ben Folds, and Tall Heights perform. Thankfully, the venue was covered, and the sound of the downpour actually made the sets even more epic and dramatic.
Boston locals Paul Wright (cello/vocals) and Tim Harrington (guitar/vocals) are the duo known as Tall Heights, a band that started by literally busking the streets on Faneuil Hall. Over five years after their humble beginnings, they’re on tour and performing at one of Boston’s biggest venues. Tim Harrington started the set by informing the audience of their roots, and the audience gave a very warm welcome to the Boston locals.
While the audience was clearly filled with Ben Folds and Cake fans, it was evident that the listeners were blown away by the musicianship of the band. In an interview I had with Paul before the show, he mentioned that he and Tim learned how to sing and perform with each other during the long hours performing on the streets, so it was incredible to experience how tuned they were to each other. Their harmonies were so powerful, both in older songs like ‘Spirit Cold’ and in new songs like ‘Fire Escape.’
Tall Heights ended their set with one of their newest singles, ‘The Deep End,’ and humbly thanked the audience for coming out to the show. They later returned to the stage to support Ben Folds as his backing band. Their performance set the bar high for the rest of the night, and the band did a spectacular job for a venue that was still filling up at that time. I do recommend seeing Tall Heights in concert, but I would have loved to see them at a much more intimate venue. Blue Hills was far too big to have been able to fully connect with their music. Luckily, Tall Heights will be releasing their newest LP on October 3 and will be (appropriately) ending their own headlining tour at the Royale on December 1. Definitely keep an eye out for their album Pretty Colors for Your Actions, and don’t miss them when they come back to Boston!
