The Lexicon: Three cheers for Tiberius

By Alexis Schlesinger

Editorial Staff

Courtesy of Alexis Schlesinger

Tiberius, the alternative-indie-country band and beloved pillar of the Boston music scene, celebrated their fifth album, “Troubadour,” with a beautiful show in Somerville on Nov. 15. Tiberius consists of lead vocalist Brendan Wright, bassist Kelvin “KP” Polite, drummer Sam Blumenstiel, pedal steel player Pat King, and recently joined guitarist Colin Boyd. According to Tiberius’ website, the band started out as Wright’s solo project, and has evolved over the years into a community favorite. “Troubadour” didn’t just get one show to celebrate its release, it got six. Warehouse XI was the third stop on this short tour, just a day after the album’s release date. Tiberius was joined on Nov. 15 by local acts Winkler and Gollylagging. Both indie-rock bands have performed alongside Tiberius previously, and made for strong opening acts before Tiberius’ set. Warehouse XI was a great choice of venue, giving the show a very intimate atmosphere. The venue is fully general admission, and standing room only. The only thing filling the space aside from bands and fans are two merch tables, and a small bar in the back corner of the room. The layout of the venue puts fans at eye-level with the band, as the stage area is just the back of the room set to the headliner’s liking. The stage set-up for the Tiberius show resembled a living room, complete with standing lamps, house plants, and a few large rugs. The choice of decor, combined with the warm, dim, light of the standing lamps perfectly complimented the emotional and nostalgic feel of the band’s new album. Having seen Tiberius perform many times before this show, and after giving “Troubadour” a listen when it was released on Nov. 14, I already had high expectations for this show. Every Tiberius show I’ve seen has topped the last, and this was no exception. Tiberius’ set started off their full playthrough of “Troubador” with “Sag,” one of the band’s most iconic songs. “Sag” was first released as a single on July 18, and has become a beloved part of Tiberius setlists. Aside from the crowd’s consistent and well-deserved applause for the band, “Sag’s” opening lyric “three cheers for Elliot!” is always the crowd's loudest moment of the night. This line makes for a special interaction between the band and their fans, as the three cheers are now not only directed toward “Elliot,” but the members of Tiberius as well. Despite not playing the album in order, the setlist still flowed very well. “Troubadour” as an album is already very strong lyrically, and musically, but is something extra special live. Other particularly standout songs were “It has to be true,” and “Barn.” The friendship and humor shared among the members of Tiberius are both major factors in the elevation of their live performances. Before starting “It Has to Be True,” Wright mentioned to the audience that every time the band had played the track live, Polite and Blumensteil had come up with choreographed motions for the first portion of the song, but they had never turned around to see what the two were doing. As Wright started off the song on solo vocals and guitar, Polite and Blumenstiel squeezed together on the drum seat, and rocked back and forth behind Wright’s back. In a heartwarming moment, Wright turned around to watch their bandmates choreography for the first time, and paused as the room filled with quiet laughter. The rest of the band joined in shortly after for the rest of the track. “Barn” was the final song, both for the show, and for the album. Wright’s earnest lyrics along with the song's soaring trumpet created an indescribably beautiful atmosphere that left the audience wanting more. As the song ended and the band announced the end of their set, the audience begged for an encore. The band gave in to the cheers, and got set up for just one more song. Wright called Winkler back to the stage to join them for “Fish in a Pond,” another one of the band’s most well known tracks, released in 2023. Seeing such a large crowd come together for the “Troubador” release show, and come together as loudly as it did, showed how much of a staple Tiberius has become to the Boston scene. Tiberius, you are loved to the bone.