friday, april 23
9:30 pm
all ages
$8
picastro (pehr)
seekonk (kimchee)
tiger saw (kimchee)
viking moses
production:
stacie slotnick/thecpr
stacie (at ) thecritique (dot) org
the critique of pure reason
A mysterious and enigmatic figure—supposedly raised in a deaf family, being genetically deaf herself, and having learned to sign as her first language—Picastro front-woman Liz Hysen quickly gained notoriety for her soulfully emotive vocals and her band’s lushly atmospheric mediations. First taking their native Toronto by storm and giving the city some needed indie rock credibility in the process, their unique pairing of electric guitars, cellos, and haunting vocals soon were winning fans over outside of Canada, as the quartet was soon snatched up by Los Angeles’ leading experimental rock label, Pehr. Their debut, 2001’s Red Your Blues, drew comparisons to everyone from Godspeed You Black Emperor! to Cat Power, earned favorable reviews, and ultimately had songs turning up on network television programs. By the end of that year, Hysen was said to be recording an album of gypsy songs with avant-garde rockers Cerberus Shoal.
Seekonk makes music that is sad and warm and wise.
It is music designed for the listening room, particularly the inner one you always carry around with you, bustling with that ever-present dialogue. It helps quiet things down in there. Seekonk is five players from Portland, Maine who like to try different instruments on for size, including a cello, trombone, xylophone, and bowed amplified birdcage. The band began as a result of two guys getting dumped hard by their sweethearts within weeks of each other. Songs happened. Then they asked a girl who lived on an island to sing these songs for them. Makes sense somehow. Some have said Seekonk reminds them of other bands like Pink Floyd, Low, The Velvet Underground, and Neil Young. Seekonk is not averse to being called a “head” band. Seekonk’s debut album For Barbara Lee sounds particularly lovely in the here and now. And yet it has an ageless quality. That’s a pretty neat trick. Here indeed is music as inviting as any you might hold dear.
Tiger Saw formed at the turn of the century in a hotel in Los Angeles, where Dylan Metrano wrote much of their self-produced winter 1999 album How To Be Timeless Tonight. He brought his creations back to his hometown of Newburyport, a seaside town 40 miles to the north of Boston. There the slow, quiet and decidedly non-rock sound of his band tended to frustrate its players, who came and went in the tradition of the loose-knit jazz combos of a generation or two ago. By 2000, a line-up had finally solidified. Tiger Saw has recently done scores for theatre and film, including one they play live to accompany the classic silent film Nosferatu. This band specializes in the whisper, the waltz, and songs that are jazz in concept, but not in execution. Theirs is an exquisitely mournful music, numinous and sweet. We invite you to experience the beautiful desolation that is Tiger Saw.
Viking Moses is Chicago’s Brendon Massei. Be it a banjo, guitar or keyboard, Brendon will teach it a lesson or two… and keep a crowd captivated with sentimentality whilst doing so. His album, “No More Sad Eyes” is available from No Town (Sound Recordings), Chicago.