Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Spin Camera Obscura at Mercy Lounge 5/27/09
Posted by The Spin on Thu, May 28, 2009 at 9:40 AM
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Prepped for a mild evening of pop indulgence, we pulled into the Mercy Lounge parking lot expecting lots of muted swaying, head-bobbing and girls dressed like grandmothers. What we found--aside from the terrible surprise of an old acquaintance we avoided the whole night--was not far off. The crowd was a mix of Vandy kids, hipsters and nameless twenty- and thirtysomethings who were mostly subdued, but seemed to have picked sides in a battle of Jesus sandals vs. Converse. Casualties were rampant, and neither side fought valiantly.
By the time the trio Oblio took the stage, a fairly large crowd had formed inside. We opted for the sweet spot halfway between the bar and the sound booth, where the air conditioner blasts, the sound is even and a reporter can properly scope the scene. Oblio coerced the crowd into delivering their love and applause with their own particular brand of bombastic pop mixed with flowery picking, catchy melodies and a really hard-hitting drummer. Though we were impressed with their technical prowess, we couldn't help but wonder if maybe they were biting off more than they could chew with their spastic transitions and obfuscating drum fills.
Between sets we hit up the porch, guzzling brews, furiously chain smoking and imagining stabbing patrons with our pen purely out of boredom. Once the novelty of that idea wore off, we ambled back inside, squeezing our way through seas of fashion glasses and gussied-up nerddom. It was at this point that we learned there were only two acts for the night, and that the headliner, Camera Obscura, was about to go on.
The Glasgow outfit put on a solid show, with frontwoman Tracyanne Campbell and her near flawless vocal performance taking center stage both in the mix and audience attention. Although there were no string players present, auxiliary members added subtleties and accents via brass, extra guitar and vocal harmonies, all of which helped to create that Orbisonesque sound the band has come to rely on. Our only real complaint regarding their performance was a lack of energy in their execution. This comes as no surprise, given the melancholic nature of their lyrics and the relaxed tone of their albums, but it still would have been nice if Tracyanne had given us a little hop, or even just a playful wink. Maybe some whiskey would have helped. Maybe she aims to leave us wanting more. Maybe not.
Comments (9)
Showing 1-9 of 9
I'm seeing them tonight in Cincinnati, so pumped!
It would have been cooler to see them in Nashville, though.
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"Jesus sandals vs. Converse." "fashion glasses and gussied-up nerddom" "girls dressed like grandmothers"
I am dying to know what you were wearing. Especially since this is a concert review, err,I mean, fashion report.
I was there. I honestly like Camera Obscura's records quite a bit, but something about them live didn't do it for me. Didn't find it particularly engaging. And that's coming from a dude who falls in love at the mere sight of an oversized bow and a melancholy pout.
It's good to see that John Madden has picked up bass guitar duties for Camera Obscura.
no kidding @camera obscura - just be happy they effing came to Nashville - anyone who knows anything about Camera Obscura would be happy with minimal banter with the audience - which Tracyanne was more than willing to oblige - they were fantastic - and appreciative of the Nashville audience.
d. patrick is wrong - I was there too and it was more than I expected. Very good show - and by the way, the bassist was awesome - he rocked that show -
I...I'm wrong? You mean I did find it engaging? Wow, I was pretty sure I could tell what I thought, but thanks for letting me know that I can't. Maybe I should see a brain doctor or something.
d.patrick - don't worry, coldplay will be in town soon... go watch them and buy a t-shirt that you can wear to your Western Civ class at MTSU this fall
good point cap'n jake !
perfect. let's make fun of other people by using artists that sell lots of records. ha ha ! you're a genius.
or wait, maybe that just means that camera obscura isn't that good ?
maybe you can NOT buy the c-obscura shirt because it's too obvious (which in turn keeps them from staying on the road) and next time go for kill and pull out a witty 'Killers' joke. oh man, people will think you're awesome.
don't choke on your man scarf !
cap'n out.
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