Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Spin Bowerbirds & Tristen at Exit/In, 11/17/09
Posted by Steve Haruch on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 3:56 PM
If Nashville songstress Tristen was proud to ready the stage for an outfit as cultivated as Bowerbirds at the Exit/In last night, by the time the night was through the North Carolina trio were likely glad to have such a worthy opener. Both acts carry in their respective sounds a heavy dose of bright-eyed youthfulness that's both a reflection of the music they make--one a sweet-natured offshoot of girl-punk meets pop country, the other dealing in lush autumnal acoustics--and the relatively short time they've been writing that music. At times, Tristen may have come across a bit stiff, but her neatly counteracted vocal harmonies with backup guitarist/cellist Larissa Maestro, and basic knack for quaint yet durable song structure, lent every rosy hook the vibrance it needed. Whatever the reason for the band's slightly rigid performance, it can hardly be pinned on lack of talent. If anything, it could be forgiven for the joint-creaking cold that had settled into the venue. Most of it was broken by the time their second song "Baby Drugs" was underway, though, and the stage had even a semblance of warmth by the time Tristen closed with her signature ballad, "Matchstick Murder."
Coming off their latest record, Upper Air, easily one of the year's most solid contributions to indie folk, Bowerbirds had more than a handful of amazing songs to share. But whatever anticipation the modest crowd might have had for those fresh tunes was delayed a bit, as lead songwriter Phil Moore led the band through a trio of tracks from their debut Hymns for a Dark Horse to open. "My Oldest Memory" or "The Ticonderoga" may have an inert beauty to their crisp fingerpicking and some soft accordion pumps from Beth Tacular, but the difference was palpable when the set list turned toward more recent favorites like "Northern Lights" or "Teeth." Even so, the bald-faced production qualities found on Upper Air seemed absent from their live performance, softening the stark heartache of Moore's cryptic lyrics and brisk guitar strokes into something a tad too easily absorbed. Maybe the vocals weren't quite leveled off correctly to match drummer Matt Damron's thudding three-piece, or Moore's closely mic'ed guitar drowned out some of the songs' subtleties. Despite all of that, though, the sheer emotional honesty of the Bowerbirds was not entirely lost, making for one memorable show.
Comments (3)
Showing 1-3 of 3
Tristen has a great voice and has a lot of potential but she's a big ol' bitch. Hope she gets over that. Otherwise she'll dig her own musical grave if there's any justice in this industry.
like
dislike
Vote here for best Band of the Week
Slideshows
Top Commenters
