This gig was like a double bill - two strong female performers taking their music to new areas and pushing the boundaries.
I was there to see headliner The Weather Station (aka Tamara Lindeman). I'd seen her play four years ago when her sound was decidedly guitar based indie. Since then she's been on a journey from the early folk stylings that when I first heard her duets with Daniel Romano put me in mind of Emmylou and Gram. Ever restless she has moved on through the companion albums 'Ignorance' and 'How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars' with their shimmering melodies and pop sheen.
The last two years over which time these two albums were recorded and released have also seen her star shine with the albums being highlighted by reviewers and seen as among the most important of recent years. She seems at home with these songs and is certainly relaxed, inhabiting the songs with a casual intensity as she moves between instruments and paces the stage. She talked of dancing and wanting to write songs to dance to and a number of the songs have the kind of rhythms you can move to, even her quieter numbers have melodies you can slow dance to. I'm listening carefully and think that despite the exceptional quality of her songs and performance there remains a striving for something that is just beyond her grasp, yet. I expect the next music from The Weather Station to move the boundaries further forward and the next time I see her I feel she'll have reached a new peak of creativity further up the scale - I look forward to that.
Circuit Des Yeux were a revelation to me. Sure I'd listened to her album '-io' but that did not prepare me for the cathedral of sound that Haley Fohr and her two supporting musicians drenched us with. A maelstrom of foreboding as she fills the stage with her presence seeming like a giant as she prowled the stage looming over the audience before descending to pace back and forth in front of the stage then darting into the audience, climbing back onto the stage and literally hanging off the walls. It was spectacular and the sound was huge invoking glimpses of late period Scott Walker, darkest Billy McKenzie and Diamanda Galas. She did take it down a notch for the last beautiful song and left us there contemplating what we'd just experienced.
So in summary an evening of music by two emerging women talents who are creating the music they want pushing at boundaries and what is expected of women performers, moving at their own pace. Different approaches, yes but both reaching for new sounds and tonal qualities and creating something wonderful in both cases. I've little time for nostalgia, who should when new music like this is available?
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