March 19, 2010

Joanna Newsom played Town Hall

A single spotlight shone down on an elegant harp as Joanna Newsom graced the stage for the opening number of her sold out show at Town Hall last night. Her majestic voice echoed the silent theater as she dazzled and mesmerized the crowd with selections from her three brilliant full length albums. She has been one of few artists over the past decade that has been able to release multiple albums that range in composition yet still retain her unique song writing skills. For just over an hour and a half Joanna pleased the crowd with classics such as "The Book of Right-On" "Inflammatory Writ" and my highlight of the evening, the set ending, "Peach, Plum, Pear" which was simply spectacular. While her songs are illustrious on record, she breathed a new life into them especially with her backing strings, horn, and percussion. While "Emily" was the only track off the exceptional Ys, new tracks from Have One On Me such as "Soft as Chalk" and "Easy" helped fuel the fire of my love for this new record. Her humbleness and quite beauty added a touching element to the show and the audience erupted in a roaring applause after each song to shake those nerves she claimed to have at the beginning of the show.

Setlist:
Jackrabbits
Have One On Me
Easy
Inflammatory Writ
Soft as Chalk
Kingfisher
The Book of Right-On
Autumn
Emily
Peach, Plum, Pear
--
Baby Birch

March 10, 2010

Beach House - La Blogotheque

Straight off the success of perhaps their best, if not just equally great, album to date Teen Dream Baltimore dream-poppers Beach House appear on La Blogotheque. However instead of doing the standard take-a-way show, the group played an almost full set on Soiree de Poche. This almost half hour show highlights the truly majestic voice of Victoria and the lush sound of the slowly dripping guitar for which Beach House are loved. The hazy camera doesn't quite focus on the trio which really allows for the elegant floating sound to permeate your speakers and showcase what a brilliant sound this band is capable of producing.

March 7, 2010

Joanna Newsom played Jimmy Fallon

In what seems like quite an unlikely pair, but then again she is dating Andy Samberg, Joanna Newsom made her second television appearance the other night when she was the musical guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. After releasing the daring, yet amazing, triple album Have One On Me she seems to be conquering all musical endeavors as of late, so why not late night tv? Let me also point out how simply beautiful she looks in this video. Maybe Samberg can get her a spot on SNL soon? Watch "Soft as Chalk" below and check out Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold cover it here.