Back on the road to celebrate the Persona era, half•alive brought their new live show to Phoenix for a stunning Saturday night of dancing, color, and joy.
Support from mehro and The Walters was the perfect primer, showing both the introspective and energetic sides of half•alive’s music. Early arrivals shrieked with delight at the goofy onstage antics of The Walters as they treated us to the viral “I Love You So” and their other feel-good indie tracks.
To introduce the headliner, the Muppet-type creatures from Persona’s cover art emerged on stage and looked curiously out at the audience before cautiously waving. They didn’t do much else, but they set the tone for this new live set that incorporates songs exploring humanity — “Automatic” and “Bleed it Out” being a couple of highlights — as well as the seasons of life, like on their previous tour.
Fans of half•alive know there’s more to the show than just the music. Dancers Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry bring the songs to life in a new way with powerful choreography. Vocalist Josh Taylor joins them periodically, and the trio’s movements are completely captivating. For the quieter moments, however, the dancers left the stage and the music went acoustic: the beginning of “arrow” first and later a “Beige” / “Hot Tea” / “creature” medley.
half•alive closed their set with the much-beloved “still feel” and “RUNAWAY,” bringing the energy to a fever pitch before departing. Humanity is feeling those songs bone-deep, and looking around the room, the Persona tour’s Phoenix stop was a resounding success.
