Oliver Tree at House of Blues 3/11
“Thank you, and goodnight!” shouted Oliver Tree as he ran off stage. At this point he had only performed one song, so you can imagine the confusion among some members of the audience. However, if you know anything about Tree, you know that these kinds of shenanigans are something he would do. He is truly a master at blurring the lines between what is real and what is part of his persona. After a little bit of convincing, he begrudgingly came back on stage to perform one of his biggest hits, “Alien Boy,” dressed in his signature retro jacket, red sunglasses, and oversized jeans. Joined by a drummer and guitarist dressed just like him, they did my favorite song of his justice by adding some new elements to the song while Tree bounced all over the stage.
After performing “When I’m Down,” the first song he ever released under the name Oliver Tree, he took off his jacket and jeans to reveal a sweatsuit with the iconic jazz cup pattern all over it. Then, a solid performance of “All That” led to an animated rendition of “Fuck” that had the crowd going. Tree continued his crowd interaction by getting everyone to swing their arms side to side during “Life Goes On,” just like how it happens in the music video.
Another one of my favorite songs, “1993,” came right after. Before the song started, Tree introduced the featured artist on the song, Little Ricky ZR3, a gargantuan alien from outer space who waddled his way on stage shortly after. Despite the fact that Tree apparently coached Ricky beforehand, he still messed up his first impression, first speaking to the crowd in an alien language, and then referring to them as “Coachella.” The song was great though, with Tree and Ricky getting the crowd moving. We were even treated to an unreleased cut called “On My Blind Side” off of Ricky’s upcoming mixtape afterward.
At this point, the show had shifted to a Wild West aesthetic to match the songs he played, which mostly came from his new country album Cowboy Tears. The second half of the show managed to be more wild than the first somehow. It started off with Tree getting on top of a cow statue to perform as it was rotated around. At one point he stood up on top of the cow, and frankly, it was pretty epic. Not too long after, he brought out a comically large guitar that he apparently built with his bare hands in defiance of the big lumber industry to perform “Miracle Man.” Later, he rushed over to the outhouse on stage for a much needed bathroom break. Close to the end of the show, he successfully performed a scooter trick for everyone, as he was a former scooter professional. After a few more songs, he closed with a beautiful rendition of “I’m Gone” mixed together with a reprise of “Alien Boy” while playing a guitar shaped like a rifle.
An absolutely chaotic concert with many twists and turns, outfit changes, and even a special guest, Oliver Tree impressively manages to take this all-over-the-place energy and create an experience that is somehow coherent and fun in the end. It was awesome seeing him live after following his artistic journey for the past few years. I would recommend getting out to one of his shows, but unfortunately, he said that this tour would be his last ever. Or will it?
