Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler Finally Bring “brent” to Life at Brooklyn Paramount
brooklyn, new york
Chelsea Cutler and Jeremy Zucker for “brent iii'“ by Stefan Kohli
In 2019, indie singer-songwriters Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler joined forces to create brent, a mixtape of five songs, all written and produced by the pair in a Connecticut cabin. Surrounded by the December cold, the two isolated themselves for a week in the cozy space and left with the first installment of brent under their belts. For the last five years, brent has continued to evolve into one more EP and finally an album, released earlier this month.
The Brooklyn Paramount is grand and ornate, with a floor full of fold-out chairs for the sold-out show. With a warm blue illuminating from top, the stage fills with instrumentalists, from bass guitar and percussion to a quartet of strings, seated behind a cozy living room-replica, likely to emulate the place where ‘brent’ actually began. When the strings were finally settled in a row, they began to play an orchestral intro, alongside a projected video montage of Zucker and Cutler throughout the years, explaining the origin story of the show they were about to perform.
The video wraps, and the strings begin to play a new tune, which turns into “ashes & rust,” the first track off of brent iii. Cutler and Zucker both on their respective guitars, harmonizing into the mics with ease. The crowd applauds and sings along on a low note, leaving space for the performers on stage to fill. For the first thirty minutes of the set, the protocol is the same. The typical guitar and live drum production from Zucker is highlighted by the strings, creating a rounded sound and delicately cradling the lyrics so obviously full of love. As they move from track to track, silence never follows as the quartet plays between songs, giving the show a nearly cinematic feel.
From “black & white” to “terrible things,” the two are never singing apart, aside from their own respective solos from brent iii, with Cutler delivering her emotional piano-led ballad, “sometimes”. Zucker was quick to follow up with comedy, then performed his one-minute “toothbrush song” interlude. As we watch the two in what looks like their most natural habitat, the audience falls into the same rhythm of relaxation, some singing along, some swaying to the music, some couples resting their heads on each other’s shoulders. It’s a refreshing show to be a part of, no screaming at the performers, no recording phones held above shoulder-level.
Almost an hour into the set, Zucker instructs the audience to stand for “A-frame,” a personal favorite of many fans (including myself). As the audience rises to their feet, yellow paper hearts appear in every fan's hand, with “Forever our home away from home” written on the front. In a way, what ‘brent’ is to Zucker and Cutler is found within all of us. In an interview with Ones to Watch from 2019, Zucker and Cutler describe ‘brent’ as, “Think of this project as a time capsule, a diary of the process that resulted in one of the most fulfilling musical journeys in either of our lives. These songs kept us warm in the deep snow of December. We hope they can do the same for you."
The open-space concept of the replicated living room, and the casual nature of the show, sitting for the most part (unless instructed otherwise by Zucker) embraced this idea that the music was keeping together, away from the cold and from everything going on outside the Brooklyn Paramount. With their second to last track, “just breathe,” the audience stood and chanted the chorus “Baby, just let it go and breathe / You're gonna be fine / You're doing alright / Baby, just breathe / You're gonna be fine / You're doing alright / Baby, just breathe.”
They ended the night with “this is how you fall in love,” a slow and beautiful ballad, the audience seated, as the two preferred. As the song progressed, couples and best friends scattered across the floor interlocked hands, or threw their arms around the shoulders of the one they love. The last line of the night echoed,“This is how you fall in love / Let go and I'll hold you up / So pull me tight and close your eyes / Oh, my love, side to side.” The platonic love that the two share is illuminated with “brent forever: the tour” and their creative synergy is at all-time high. The audience is infected with the energy that these two are able to deliver on stage, with this tour, we all become a part of ‘brent’.
