On June 30, Amber Bain, professionally known as The Japanese House, released her anticipated sophomore album “In The End It Always Does.” Following the album’s release, Bain announced a U.S. tour alongside indie-folk artist Quinnie, making both of their first-ever stops in San Antonio, playing a sold-out show at Paper Tiger on Saturday.
The night was opened by Quinnie, formally known as Quinn Barnitt, performing alongside her longtime friends Jake Weinberg and Hudson Pollock. The trio started off the set with an unreleased song titled “Ripple.” From there, Quinnie performed another unreleased track titled “Baha Bird,” stating that her inspiration for the song stemmed from remembering the feelings of being a little girl and how “powerful” it felt. Soon after, they closed the performance with “Goldstar,” a song that Quinnie wrote while in high school. Throughout her entire set, the crowd was locked in. Even though Quinnie’s debut album “Flounder” was only released in February, it seemed like every attendee knew every song.
Following her set, Quinnie discussed her first experience performing in San Antonio and her excitement for the rest of the tour.
“It was great, I mean I honestly didn’t get to see much of the town because we got in like an hour before soundcheck. I have been kinda holed up until now, but so far so good.” Barnitt said. “[The tour’s] been great so far, it’s only been like 10 days. [It’s] going smoothly, we’ll see how it’s going in a couple weeks though. For now, I’m feeling great, and am really excited to be a part of it.”
Soon Bain stepped out onto Paper Tiger’s mainstage, and all eyes were on her. Starting with “Sad to Breathe,” a song that begins slow before picking up into a much more danceable-pop sound.
From the start, Bain’s vocals were on point, both to her own and Paper Tiger’s credit. Every note was on key and there was not a single noticeable mistake in her performance or the sound, which is not something many venues or touring artists can claim.
Halfway through the set, Bain performed her top single, “Saw You In A Dream,” once again entrancing everyone in attendance. The famous song instantly had fans swaying back and forth, repeating the lyrics “I saw you in a dream, you came to me. You were the sweetest apparition, such a pretty vision.”
Soon the set was ending, but not before Bain would tease an encore. Soon the “final” song of the night was played and a chant for one more song would become louder and louder. And as she teased before, Bain and her band returned to perform “One for sorrow, two for Joni Jones” and to the excitement of fans, “Sunshine Baby.”
Both Barnitt and Bain put on an amazing performance; everything was on point. There was not a single moment where fans were bored. From start to finish all eyes were on the stage, listening and waiting for the next song.
The Japanese House and Quinnie will make the next stop of their tour on Nov. 12 at Granada Theater in Dallas, Texas.
