Half Alive first made waves in 2018 with their breakout hit Still Feel – a genre-blending track that came to life with hypnotic choreography in its iconic music video. Ever since, they’ve built a reputation for crafting deeply conceptual music that somehow manages to be both emotionally introspective and irresistibly groovy. To no surprise, their live show is no different: part concert, part performance art, and entirely immersive (even if the stage is probably half the size it needs to be.)
This tour celebrates their latest album Persona – a record that leans heavily into the theatrical and introspective territory they’ve been circling for years. The show was structured like seasons, with distinct visual and emotional cues marking each shift (a trend I’ve seen popping up all over the place since Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour), but for Half Alive, the format genuinely fits. Their music isn’t just about poppy sound bites for TikTok, it’s about transformation, identity, and consciousness. So, staging the concert in chapters gave each part of their catalog room to breathe without focusing too heavily on each “era” of Half Alive; it sort of tied everything together.
One of the standout moments for me was their performance of Automatic, one of my favorite tracks off Persona. It’s a song that meditates on the feeling of disconnection – of being stuck in patterns or behaviors that no longer serve you, but feeling powerless to break free. Lyrically, it’s a haunting mix of self-awareness and paralysis. Performed live, I could tell the audience resonates with the song as much as I have. The lighting shifted into colder tones, the choreography slowed down, and there was this sense of repetition that felt intentional, as if they were inviting the audience into that same loop the song describes.
That said, the venue itself, St. Andrew’s Hall, was noticeably too small for what they were trying to pull off with lead singer Josh Taylor even mentioning it as he was crouched in a corner at the piano. Their sound is big, their visuals are bigger, and their creative vision was clearly begging for a more expansive space. I even took my earplugs out halfway through and was shocked at how loud it all was (or maybe I’m just aging – who’s to say). But still, even within tight quarters, they made it work and the crowd was absolutely entranced. From the dancers to the persona mascots, every piece of the show was considered, intentional, and important which someone like me can appreciate.
Half Alive continues to surprise me. Every time I think they’ve reached their creative peak, they manage to evolve by asking harder questions, blending new genres, and putting on a show that feels both communal and introspective. If Persona is any indication of where they’re headed, I don’t think they’ve even come close to their final form.
Openers The Walters first broke through in the mid-2010s with dreamy indie-pop melodies and tracks like I Love You So – a song that saw a viral revival years later thanks to TikTok. But in classic indie band fashion, just as they were gaining traction, they abruptly broke up in 2017. After years apart, they announced a reunion in 2021 and even dropped an EP (Try Again), leading many fans to believe they’d found some healing and cohesion. Fans seemed to be eager to see them back out on the road with a band that felt so fitting for their sound.
But watching them live at St. Andrew’s Hall, one couldn’t help but wonder if those old fractures still linger beneath the surface? The lead singer appeared visibly and audibly drunk – to the point of it being less rockstar-charisma and more… so distracting I don’t really-remember what the music sounds like. As someone who has been on tour, I get that everyone wants to have fun once in a while and tackling bandmates mid-song might make for a good story, but onstage – especially in front of a mostly younger crowd while opening for a band that has retrospective undertones to their music – it felt a bit sloppy and out of place. There’s a fine line between having fun and becoming a liability, and unfortunately, this performance leaned into the latter. Hopefully this was just an off night, and other cities get to see the Walters at their best – more in sync, and a little less chaotic.
Half Alive Setlist:
Intro
Tip Toes
The Fall
Summer
Summerland
Brighton
Yosemite
Move Me
Fall
Never Been Better
Everything Machine
Subliminal
What’s Wrong
Call Back
I’ll Stop
Winter
Lost / Clarity (by Zedd) / arrow / Aawake at Night / ok ok? / Maybe / ice cold. / Conditions of a Punk (Acoustic)
Beige
Hot Tea
Make of It
Spring
Nobody
Did I Make You Up?
RUNAWAY
still feel.
Conditions of a Punk
creature
All photos by Gabriella S. Csapo
Half Alive:
The Walters:
