Hundreds of Doc Martens-clad feet shuffled into Brighton Music Hall on Oct. 5 as elevator-esque music played throughout the venue. Two hours later, the Doc Marten-clad feet were jumping and their wearers were screaming as Wasia Project took the stage to give a breathtaking performance for the sold-out venue.
Wasia Project — a sibling duo act comprised of 21-year-old William Gao and 19-year-old Olivia Hardy — announced its North American tour for the EP “Isotope” on May 23, and more than half of the shows were sold out within a week of the announcement.
Singer-songwriter Sabrina Sterling opened the show with somber-sounding songs, accompanied only by her red electric guitar. This concert was my introduction to Sterling and her music, and I wasn’t disappointed.
However, Sterling’s sound wasn’t exactly the perfect thing to get the audience jumping and pumped for the main act — that responsibility fell onto the pre-show playlist.
A stark switch-up from the songs that played before Sterling’s set, this playlist between the two acts featured heavy electronic and rap music, like “Surround Sound (feat. 21 Savage & Baby Tate)” by JID. I was pleasantly surprised by the playlist because it was the last thing I’d expect from Wasia Project, considering the pop-jazz fusion music they make.
Let it be said: I got hyped.
As the clock struck 9 p.m., Luca Wade and Tom Pacitti, the band’s touring drummer and bassist respectively, followed by Hardy and Gao, walked out on stage and were immediately met with shrieks from the audience.
After the minute-long interlude, “Isotope (Interlude)” finished, the instantly recognizable intro to “Is This What Love Is?” set off. This song’s driving percussion section — bass, piano and drums — playing in perfect unison was something I had looked forward to hearing live. The kick drum permeated through my chest and got my heart pumping.
With an abrupt ending to the show’s opening track, Wasia Project returned to its modern jazz roots and romantic lyrics with the 2023 single, “My Lover Is Sleeping.” It’s safe to say that Hardy’s voice was the star of this concert, and she was not afraid to let everyone know it.
Gao roused the venue by calling the audience by its collective name, “Boston!” Without a minute for us to think or finish cheering, the band started the lively “Petals on the Moon.” The audience met the sibling duo’s energy and screamed the lyrics back with the energy the song deserved. At this point, the audience showed it was ready to create unseen seismic activity in Boston.
After a bossa-nova reworked “how can i pretend? – Demo” and a piano jazz solo courtesy of Gao in “Burning Eyes R Calling,” Wasia Project proved it was not afraid to play with its music and adapt to a live setting.
No matter how much I love the heart-tugging original versions of the two songs, I can’t disagree that the songs’ transmutations were the correct move to keep the audience’s energy pumping and the show moving along.
Two songs later, Gao played the distinct “ur so pretty” piano intro, which was quickly overshadowed by screams from the crowd and a sea of phones rushing into the air to record the band’s most well-known track.
The audience was patient with Gao and Hardy during this track — singing only when sung to, collectively matching Hardy’s vocal dynamics and desperately waiting at the edge of the barricade for each word as it was carefully sung.
Now, that’s how an audience appreciates a song’s beauty.
Gao and Hardy finished the set with their magical piano and guitar instrumentals in “Tell Me Lies (fin).” According to the setlist I looked at from the band’s performance in Washington, D.C., a few days earlier, that was the end of the set.
However, setlist.fm bamboozled me, because as I was getting ready to beat the Doc Marten traffic and exit the venue, the sibling duo returned from behind the curtain with one of my favorite Wasia Project songs, “Misfit Biscuit.”
As one of the first songs I heard from the band and a song that I immediately resonated with, this absolute banger made me put my professionalism and camera aside and dance.
As is customary for almost all of their sets over the last year, they ended the set, for real this time, with “impossible.” For the last time in the night, Wasia Project started a new song and the audience ate it up and prepared themselves for the indie-pop-and-modern-jazz fusion that define Wasia Project’s songs.
One of the most memorable parts of the final song was Wade’s minute-long drum solo, followed by Hardy’s vocals and stage presence, which took no prisoners.
Basking in a minute of resounding applause that was, as the song says, “all too perfect,” the band left the stage undoubtedly confident of the unforgettable performance they delivered to us 500 or so audience members.
Gao and Hardy mentioned multiple times how grateful they were to be in Boston, and on behalf of Boston, we were grateful to have you, Wasia Project.
