photos by Jessica Amaya, wordsy by Rachel Kowal

Twin Sister @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

The last two nights of Northside were decent, if not a bit predictable. Though I was curious about Kelly Pratt (Arcade Fire/Beirut)'s new band Bright Moments (they played their first show at the Luaka Bop showcase), I decided to play it safe on Saturday night and headed over to the Music Hall of Williamsburg where I was familiar with the last three artists on the bill.

Somehow, the venue was actually running ahead of schedule, leaving me with only one song from the peppy Brooklyn collective Ava Luna. Luckily, I got my fix of group vocals from the next band, London's Allo Darlin'. The mood in the room (both on stage and off) was lively. As if attempting to match the vibrant performance, a number of people near the front of the floor danced enthusiastically (or rather, jumped up and down) for the entirety of the set. The band dedicated one song to Clarence Clemons who passed away earlier that night.

Twin Sister rounded out the evening. With vocalist Andrea Estella's shifting persona, you never really know what you're going to get. This time, Estella was decked out in a long white wig, oversized glasses (sans lenses), and a demure white button-up blouse, complete with matching bowtie. Whether the changing aesthetic is driven by a shyness or confidence is unclear, but it seems to be in keeping with her dramatic and affected vocals.

Toward the mid-section of their set, Twin Sister showcased a handful of songs from their upcoming album, due out in September on Domino. With the combination of charming low-key songs and funkier electro-pop songs, like the new single "Bad Street," the Brooklyn group can sometimes feel a bit schizophrenic to me, but they handled the shifting tempos in their set like pros. After a few punchier songs, nearly everyone in the band cleared the stage save for Eric Cardona and Estella, who stayed on to play a couple of their quieter and more intimate songs, including the lovely "Nectarine" and one from their upcoming album. Far from making the audience lose interest, these were the portions of the show that seemed to garner the most applause.

Mount Eerie @ St. Cecilia's Church (this photo by Michael Barron)

After a string of nights traipsing between venues and navigating the particularly unkind MTA service changes, Northside concluded where it began for me - in St. Cecilia's Church.

Though it was definitely Mount Eerie that sold me on the show, one of the biggest surprises of the long weekend was the first opener, Wyrd Visions. The set-up was simple - just a guy and his guitar, but within seconds of starting to play, the crowd was locked in a silent reverence.

With his hair slicked back and white collar shirt, Colin Bergh serenaded crowd with his long, melodious instrumental interludes and soothing vocals. Though I had never heard his music before, it somehow seemed both comfortingly familiar and organic. What better opener for Mount Eerie than a man who sings of things like ghosts and nature? The setting of the church only added to Bergh's stark mystique.

Up next was Nicholas Krgovich who played his own set before joining Phil Elverum for the main act. In his SADE t-shirt, Krgovich paced around the small space, clutching two mics and singing over samples of sultry saxes and hip hop beats. After a few songs, he was joined by Katie Eastburn who lent her vocal talents for a handful of songs, including a cover of the Prefab Sprout song, "Doo Wop in Harlem."

By the time Mount Eerie began, the church had filled out nicely. As a longtime Phil Elverum fan, I was eager to learn what had made the set list, but from a brief conversation with Elverum before the show, I knew not to expect anything too old. The show began and ended with songs from the darker and heavier album Wind's Poem ("Wind Speaks" and "Stone's Ode," respectively). Sandwiched in the middle were even newer songs that Elverum told me hadn't yet been recorded.

Even though he didn't delve too far back into the discography, I was still on the edge of my seat for every song... and yes, a bit heart broken that there was no encore. Whether a product of my ever diminishing attention span or the quickly changing music scene, much of what I listen to has a pitifully short shelf life. Elverum's music is one of the only things that I've held onto year after year, even as he turned in his hushed, lo-fi recordings and ventured into more metal territory. In stark contrast to the "ironic" bullshit that seems to drive some of today's trends, there is something in Elverum's steady voice and calm, down-to-earth demeanor that deeply resonates with me and reminds me why I fell in love with music in the first place.

My only gripe of the evening (apart from the brevity of Elverum's set, of course) is that I didn't have enough money to purchase both The Glow, pt. 2 on vinyl and some music from Wyrd Visions.

---

No mmore pictures from the Mount Eeerie show (which happened at the same time as YACHT and Deervana), but more pictures from Twin Sister/Allo Darlin, below...

Continue reading "Twin Sister, Allo Darlin', Mount Eerie, Wyrd Visions & more (Northside Fest pics & review)"

by Andrew Sacher

Upon first discovering Ed Askew's music a few years ago, I never thought I'd be able to see him live, but thanks to all the much deserved attention the psychedelic legend is now getting due to Drag City, Ed shows are becoming more and more common. Getting the chance to see him for the first time at St. Cecilia's Church on Saturday (6/17) (one night after Atlas Sound played there) was a pleasent surprise to say the least.

Although I was expecting/hoping to see him solo with either a guitar or piano, he was accompanied by a much younger keyboard player and stuck to just vocals and harmonica. He stood off to the side next to a podium which held his lyric sheets while his keyboard player was stationed in the middle of the stage. Despite admitting the sheets were there because he doesn't remember all of the lyrics, his voice was totally in tact and his delivery was excellent, lyric sheets or not. The humble setup was appropriate for Askew, who delivered his quirky songs with an awareness that they were far from marketable. It's with a completely straight face that he delivers lines like:

"Beautiful Tom smiled at me on the bridge.
Later on I sat and smoked a joint with beautiful Tom.
Beautiful Tom smiled at me on the bridge.
Later on I sat and smoked a joint with beautiful beautiful Tom.
smiled at me on the bridge.
Later on I sat and smoked a joint with beautiful Tom.
Beautiful Tom smiled at me on the bridge.
Later on I sat and smoked a joint with beautiful beautiful Tom."

He humbly spoke between songs, saying things like, "This song is one of my more recent ones, well not actually that recent. It was recorded in 1984 on a harpiscord for an album called Imperfiction which was just released now on a label called Drag City." He seemed almost confused that the esteemed Chicago indie label would reissue his work. It's great that they did though, and even better that Ed is still performing and can expose his music to new generations who were far from existing when he released his incredible debut Ask the Unicorn in 1968.

Woods, whose lo-fi approach to folk may not exist without the influence of musicians like Ed, were the headliners of the show (though I left before their set).

You can catch Ed Askew again supporting his Drag City-labelmate Bill Callahan on a tour which hits Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 11 and Bowery Ballroom on July 12. Tickets for both NYC shows are still available.

--

Speaking of Drag City, Six Organs of Admittance is playing a NYC show at Mercury Lounge on August 12th. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon. No more Six Organs dates to report, but all Ed dates and a video of Ed playing in Philly last week, below...

Continue reading "Ed Askew played a church, Six Organs playing Merc"

photos by Jessica Amaya, words by Rachel Kowal

Atlas Sound in a church

Northside Festival got off to a sweaty start yesterday, but luckily, the weather held out. I don't think I'm alone in saying that last night may have been the most stacked. Forget a slow build-up. It was 8:00, and there were already at least three places I really wanted to be, but I decided to go with Atlas Sound. I mean it was at St. Cecilia's, so it got extra points.

"I think this is the first time I've been in a church," one guy said tentatively to his friend before the show started. With its stained glass windows, carefully carved decorations, shiny chandeliers, and beautiful pews, it was a sight to behold.

The setting couldn't have been more fitting for the opening act, Lichens. The set got off to a slow start - seven solid minutes of a monotone buzz, but it soon started to build with every passing minute as Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe added more to the mix, including some otherworldly vocals. The natural reverb of the space further complimented his sound.

After about playing for about thirty minutes straight, he stopped as suddenly as he had begun, and another one-man act, Adam Forkner (aka White Rainbow), took his place behind a folding table and began to fiddle with a series of knobs and pedals. Forkner, too, carefully looped his music together, but for him, the music was more to entertain - not to bring about a religious experience. With the addition of some bass in the mix, it was just enough to get two people near the front to stand up in their pews and start dancing. (I smell a Craigslist missed connection in the making.)

Up next was yet another one-man act, Atlas Sound. In his red button up shirt and high-wasted khaki pants, Bradford Cox was dressed for the occasion. The majority of his set comprised brand new songs (for which he apologized, saying he had forgotten how the other ones go), but he did at least slip in a few older ones, including "Shelia." It's only a matter of time before Cox starts to make up songs on the spot for each show (as he joked he was doing at the Brooklyn show).

Unfortunately, though the atmosphere was ornate, I didn't love the sound quality. (Or maybe I'm just spoiled from hearing him play at the Bell House.) At times, the guitar took on this jarring quality as it pierced through the otherwise dreamy mix, but the crowd didn't seem to mind too much (Andrew liked it). A number of people left their seats in the back and filled in the space in between the pews as the show went on.

After a brief encore, Bradford Cox delivered something of a benediction to the crowd, and turned everyone loose to dash to the next show - for me, it was off to a sticky hot Bruar Falls (as per Bill's recommendation) for a bit of jangly pop, courtesy of Reading Rainbow and Eternal Summers. It was still early after all.

--

Woods headlines the show at St. Cecilia's tonight (Friday). Eleanor Friedberger is Saturday (Eleanor moved to Europa). Mount Eerie is Sunday. More pictures from Thursday and a video too, below...

Continue reading "Northside night 1 w/ Atlas Sound, Lichens & White Rainbow (pics & review)"

In their own words:

Northside Festival is thrilled to announce special series of shows in beautiful St. Cecilia's church in Greenpoint.

St. Cecilia's is one of the most beautiful and vital churches in Brooklyn. We are excited to be working with this community institution and proud to say that St. Cecilia's will be an important part of Northside.

There will be four shows taking place at the most spectacular venue imaginable.

Continue reading "St. Cecilia's Church in Greenpoint will host Northside Festival shows (Atlas Sound, Woods & Eleanor included)"