Having heard David Kushner’s TikTok-famous “Daylight” — that has since earned 1.3 billion Spotify streams — I knew I was in for a treat to hear it and the rest of “The Dichotomy,” his first full-length album, live. Even still, his Nov. 1 show at Marathon Music Works exceeded my highest expectations.
Opening first for Kushner was George Pippen, whose raspy yet upbeat voice told tales of carefree youth and longing. We were “Speedin’” along with him — “nowhere fast just living [his] way” — but slowed to sway along to his ode to an unnamed lover’s “Moonlight Magnolia Drawl.”
Taking the stage next was Henrik and his band North main st., whose energy revitalized the crowd. Henrik was clearly feeling the music, with his head bobbing and hands rhythmically gesturing. We soon followed suit mere minutes after basking in his boyish charm and youthful optimism.
Having dropped out of college for his music career, Henrik offered us his mother’s advice in song: “Chase what you believe in / It won’t happen overnight.” He didn’t let the warm, fuzzy feeling of “Turn out fine” dissipate, instead instructing the crowd to raise our hands in the air and hug our friends and loved ones.
Henrik went on to sing “Rich,” a song about being broke yet cherishing priceless things — “fresh leaves, hello, goodbyes, cool breeze, laughter in our lungs.” We all could learn a thing or two from his outlook on life. He closed with “Half of Forever,” but I wish I could’ve spent all of forever with him on stage.
The transition between Henrik and Kushner was itself a dichotomy. White and black flashes of light — and a deafening crowd — welcomed the brooding headliner onto the stage for “Darkerside.”
“You could be anywhere else in the world, but you came to my show tonight,” Kushner said. “Thank you, Nashville.”
He moved beautifully into “Humankind” and “Poison,” which, in keeping with his album’s theme, spoke to his journey from darkness and despair to ultimately finding light and hope through his faith.
Kushner peppered brief anecdotes throughout his performance, explaining the motivation and meaning behind some of his songs. In a moment of touching vulnerability, he revealed that he had fallen into a depressive state after high school. Out of his panic attacks emerged the ballad “Sweet Oblivion.”
He shared that “Mr. Forgettable” was written for his late grandfather who passed from Alzheimer’s disease. Knowing this background made the song all the more moving. Admittedly, my eyes watered a little, while some of those around me were brought to full-on tears.
Kushner’s deep baritone voice speaks for itself, but what I didn’t expect was his breathtaking falsetto. The crowd collectively gasped, all holding entirely still, as he jumped into falsetto at the end of “Flesh x Blood.”
His was a visually stunning show, too. The fiery resentment of “Burn” and “Heaven Sees” — with their accompanying red lights and thick smoke — was “washed out by the rain” with Kushner’s performance of “Elk Grove.”
Kushner closed out the concert with “You and Me,” only for repeated shouts of “encore,” “one more song” and “David” to bring him back to the stage. Much to my and the crowd’s satisfaction, his actual final song was “Daylight.” Being Kushner’s best-known song, this was only appropriate and a more-than-satisfying end to a night shaped by raw emotion, cautious hope and self-discovery.
