Show Review // David Duchovny at Baby’s All Right / Tribeca Film Fest

The line for the David Duchovny performance at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn started early and filled up fast with fans. There were casual fans who have seen X Files and came out of curiosity, then there was the cadre of hard-core fans. People who travel across the country to see him perform or attend book signings. One fan, Sabine, described Duchovny with a wistful “his voice will bring you home.” The fandom is a very tight knit community, they swapped stories of encounters with Duchovny and debated topics such as which of his hair and beard choices they liked best. They also talked about how kind and generous he is with his fans. The show was at an intimate Brooklyn pub called Baby’s All Right. They had enough space for about 300 people and the building was filled to capacity under the light of a disco ball.

The opening acts were both pleasantly surprising. Blake & Caroline felt like a throwback to something timeless with their refreshing set, which happened to be their first public performance. Next, Laundry Day took the stage with their polished, energetic sound and their ironic school boy uniforms. At last, the man most of us came to see came out on stage with his band. There were musicians on the keyboard, drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and bass to accompany Duchovny who functioned as the lead singer and wrote the songs. The band played together as though they have been together for years. Duchovny has a great stage presence with plenty of charisma to keep the audience spellbound by the music with a dash of a rock star persona. His voice is at times rich with a lovely timbre, really pulling the audience in to the lyrics of the songs.

Duchovny and the band performed 16 songs, including the two-song encore, to a very enthusiastic crowd. At one point, the drummer indicated a problem and David announced the drummer had pulled his hamstring and could no longer drum. He asked if there was anyone in the house who could play when someone shouted “I’m a drummer! “They ushered this person up on stage and it turned out to be Ben Stiller! He drummed 2 songs with the band and did a great job. He was very focused. It was a fun bit and the crowd went wild. When the original drummer returned, Duchovny said “he got his hamstring attended to apparently, and now he can hit the bass drum with sufficient force.”

There was some lively banter between songs such as Duchovny declaring that he was “very, very shy” and “I think I’m getting taller as this set goes on. At one point there was a lull in the music and to fill time Duchovny asked “Does anyone have a question?” Someone immediately asked “What about Ukraine?” Duchovny responded “Jesus Fucking Christ, I’ll just solve it tonight.” Later, Duchovny mused “Honestly I’m not used to staying up past 9 o clock, but if this is what happens I’m down for it.”

Duchovny’s new film that he wrote, produced, and starred in, in his directorial debut, Bucky Fucking Dent, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival the day after his show at Baby’s All Right. I asked him how it felt to play for his fans the night before and he responded, “I love it, I mean, it’s been a while now so they know the music and it’s very fulfilling. Last night was the first time we’ve performed live at a venue like that in years so it really lit the fire under me again to do it more.” This will make his fans, both old and new, very happy!