Seraphina Lotkhamnga on April 2nd, 2011

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[Playing catch-up, as this review was delayed by illness ….]

All musicians reveal their vulnerable side when they share their songs with an audience full of strangers, but no matter the presence of catchy choruses or universally embraceable themes, the test ultimately lies in how believable an artist’s openness is. On March 25, singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten, fronting a three-piece band, brought her insecurities-turned-strengths to the Satellite to tell some very convincing tales of love and its hardships. Breathing life into songs from her highly-regarded 2010 album “Epic,” Van Etten shone in the spotlight, her quavering voice often transitioning to a confident bellow by the end of each song.

The petite New Yorker opened with “A Crime” – the first track off of her follow-up album to “Because I Was in Love.” There, the simple act of strumming a guitar became a cathartic release, as she treated the introductory chords almost like a punching bag. Whether she wrestled with regret (“I’ll never let myself love like that again”) or she traded in detachment (“Light a cigarette/Think of you/And walk away”), there wasn’t much room for the empathy to turn into sympathy, since most of her songs have a victorious arch.

Of course, it would be incorrect to say that Van Etten’s musical tales always have a happy ending. Her two albums generally document a horrendous relationship with a controlling ex-boyfriend, and the songs on her debut are a bit more bleak. Mixing some of those older songs into the set, the shy yet charming Van Etten touched on that part of her life when she pulled out “Tornado.” As one of the gentler songs in her repertoire that is ironically about a force of destruction she became while in her relationship (“You are the dust/You’re all around/And you’re inside”), the sense of an inescapable bond was seen and heard as she stood on her tip-toes to sustain some of the longer notes.

Not all was maudlin. Van Etten tempered her work’s gravity with awkward but cheerful banter covering such topics as Charlie Sheen, Sinead O’Connor, her mom and the homes of friends where she crafted some of the songs.

For an artist who has been marketed as a person for toting her insecurities around, Van Etten seemed to be comfortable with the fact that she was fragile in the past and almost ready to take in the pain all over again. This was especially displayed when the tender “Love More” served as the finale. Cynicism seeped in a bit with reactions to requests during the encore earlier on (“Oh, when I used to be in love!”), but it was when she asked, “Everyone in this room has thought you were in love at some point, right?” and followed it up with “Those of you who said yes, come forward and relate with me” that Van Etten’s personal set had come full circle.

Photos by Carl Pocket