Notorious for his extremely sad music, Alec Duckart (also known as Searows) put on a tear-jerker show at 9:30 Club recently, filled with vulnerable lyrics and an audience singing their hearts out. This tour was in support of Searows’ second studio album Death in The Business of Whaling which draws themes from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick served for a perfectly cohesive, put-together show with airy and sensible moments throughout.
The first three songs of the show followed the first three tracks on the album on May 5. Starting with “The Belly of a Whale” set the tone for tears to rush from the start. It is a gentle track with lyrics that you could tell the audience felt so deeply. Looking upon the crowd, people were already wiping their tears and comforting their friends. “Kill What You Eat” was next, which was dreamy and had incredible light-work with red, green, and white light beams crossing through the venue. Then it was a “Photograph of a Cyclone” which is hauntingly vulnerable — this was the song the crowd felt the most invested in and so emotional.
Watch Searows perform “Photograph of a Cyclone” live on YouTube:
Despite the calm energy Searows brings to the table, the show had one of the best and loudest crowds I have ever seen. The fans were lively and engaging which made the incredibly sad show feel homey and intimate. In between songs during a quiet lull, as expected at a show, someone screamed “I love you!” Then, throughout the rest of the show people went above and beyond when there was a quiet moment between songs to make it known that they loved the show — they loved Searows. Alec was taken aback at first, but so appreciative nonetheless –- the crowd had shown up for him and sold out the iconic 9:30 Club.
The rest of the show Searows played songs from both of his albums and continued to have intricate and interesting light production paired with passionate singing and crying from fans. You could feel the love and appreciation radiating from the audience as Alec stepped off-stage and people begged and screamed for one more song. Encores are expected, but as the first song of the encore, “House Song,” ended, Searows didn’t step off-stage, instead people started jumping and cheering as he closed the show off with “Geese” — the same way he closed the album.
Setlist:
The Belly of a Whale
Kill What You Eat
Photograph of a Cyclone
Martingale
Dearly Missed
End of The World
Coming Clean
Dirt
Violet
Keep The Rain
Roadkill
Hunter
Junie
House Song
Geese
Here are some photos of Searows performing live at 9:30 Club on May 5, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Isabella Alvarez.
