Just moments after Tennis’s first song ended, their lead singer, Alaina Moore, announced that this was the largest show that they had ever played. The 9:30 Club was packed yet quaint, and as the band moved into their next song, a rhythmic calm washed over the tightly packed crowd.
Indie pop band Tennis was unextraordinary at first. They hit the scene in the early 2010s right after the “death” (which was also technically the birth) of Chillwave bands that saw indie pop transition into a dissonant mix of upbeat sounds and depressing lyrics (essentially pulling from Twee Pop).
Tennis came up around the same time as bands like Best Coast, Girls and my personal favorite, Mr Twin Sister. Like any good band, however, Tennis has pulled away from these comparisons lately.
Their newest full-length, Yours Conditionally, features much better instrumental backing tracks, especially when compared to the bands coming up from the aforementioned scene, as well as a much more guided vibe with the songs.
So upon seeing them at the 9:30 Club, I was pleasantly surprised at how danceable and funky their newest arrangements translate to live performance. Songs like, “Fields of Blue”, “Ladies Don’t Play Guitar” and even one of their older tracks, “Dimming Light,” goaded a crowd that looked like that of a wine tasting into sensual dancing.
The performance, while upbeat, also managed to carry a range of emotions, mostly through the connected vibes of Moore’s soft yet strong voice and guitarist Pat Riley’s (who is also married to Moore) driven playing.
Tennis played songs that ranged throughout their discography post-Small Sound (a 2013 EP that truly signaled their transition from a middle-of-the-pack twee indie band into what they’ve evolved into now).
Songs from Ritual In Repeat featured throughout the performance like, “Mean Streets” and “Bad Girls”. They also worked in a few songs from Yours Conditionally, but not too many, since it seemed they were still nailing down the vibe of performing a few of these live (and the 9:30 Club performance was early into their touring circuit).
As the band ended their set, shouting ensued and less than a minute later the band came back to play two more songs. It was a Sunday, so they didn’t feel obligated to have us wait long.
As the performance ended, I left with a more positive opinion on Tennis. I knew the band had gotten much better than its Cape Dory release during my time in high school, but it was so strange for me to see that change in motion. Tennis is on an upward trend.
