CONCERT REVIEW: Joanna Newsom @ First Unitarian Church, 3/19

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CONCERT REVIEW: Joanna Newsom @ First Unitarian Church, 3/19

POSTED: Monday, March 22, 2010, 9:40 PM

Filed Under: Music Concert Review

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Joanna Newsom

At 8:45, The Moore Brothers moseyed onto a tiny stage in the First Unitarian Church that definitely has featured kindergarteners gussied up as sheep, shepherds, wise men and angels at some point in its storied past. These guys were weird and intense from square one, but it was cut with some serious Simon-meets-Garfunkely vocals and seemed so genuine that opening with an a capella Irish-ish verse about what sounded a lot like date-rape was met with warm laughter and applause. The duo was charming and funny, trading off their guitar on songs and working in lyrical quips about having a girlfriend that watches too much Dexter. With harmonies as easy to get caught up in as these two conjured, I'm sure she doesn't even notice.

There was about an hour lull between acts, and with the room lit with chandeliers and two Penn freshmen on the most asinine date of all time in the pew behind me, I took the time to check out my surroundings. There is no hierarchy of cool at a Joanna Newsom concert, just a whole bunch of different ties, knobby knees peaking from underneath home-made summer dresses, bangs, diadems, boots, tights, greasy dorm-hair and baby faces coming together in a beautiful place. Bra-less neo-hip-hippies lounged in the aisles of the old church, offering their bottles of wine to those deep in conversation with them. As the wait got longer, a few cramped up front sitting Indian-style actually started doing yoga. My beard must have grown an inch before the lights dimmed and Joanna and the Y's Street Band emerged on the little stage.

The place fell completely silent through Newsom's entire set, and the din of applause following each song was a caustic interlude between Joanna's gentle cooing and cawing. The church was built for her group, a pastiche of violins, recorders, trombones, softly rolling cymbals, Fender Telecasters and of course, a harp. Drawing most of her set from 2010's Have One On Me, Ms. Newsom combined the intricacy, spellbinding orchestration and vocals of 2006's Ys with the pop sensibilities of her earlier work. With a nod of her head or tap of her golden-glittering boot, the Ys Street band erupted into a howling exclamation of her cries, or abated in a subdued punctuation of her softly strummed harp.

Older songs, along with the new, were met with loving recognition, especially "Inflammatory Writ" and "Book of Right-On." These songs were originally recorded with minimal accompaniment, prior to the formation of the Ys Street Band, and the live incarnations were experimental forays into Newsom's ever sophisticating sound, with dynamic pops, thick vocalized harmonies and new enunciations on lyrics dear to most of us for a long time now. After the live premiere of "Good Intentions Paving Company," which was nothing short of spectacular, a pedal on the mammoth harp broke, and a last minute closer was introduced. Halfway through a re-imagined version of "Peach Plum Pear," I was lost in myself. It is a real heart-breaker, and considering the stark silence it cast over the audience, I wasn't alone in having adopted it as such for the past few years.

It quickly turned into a long standing ovation after Newsom's hands strummed the last heart-string, and not long after she returned for her encore. After an impromptu version of "Happy Birthday" sung to one of her violinists, courtesy of the entire house, we were taken out with a feather-soft and grating "Baby Birch," and ushered out 15 minutes later on a wave of feedback and percussive snaps still ringing through the hall.

Joanna Newsom Setlist:

Have One on Me
Easy
Inflammatory Writ
No Provenance
Kingfisher
The Book of Right-On
Soft as Chalk
Good Intentions Paving Company
Peach, Plum, Pear

Encore:

Happy Birthday
Baby Birch

Leo Astrology

Posted 2010-04-28 12:37:14

I like Joanna Newsom dress very nice :)

Posted by Tom Tiballi @ 9:40 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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