Thursday night, I attended my first paid online concert in a couple of months. Tamara Lindeman's (The Weather Station) new album Ignorance has received rave reviews since its release. With live concerts still far in the future, she has gathered a who's who of Toronto indie scene (Ben Whiteley, Christine Bougie, Johnny Spence) for a show at Revolution Recording.
There was some question mark in my mind on whether it was live or pre-recorded. I was leaning toward the latter for a few reasons: the quick transitions between songs, the refusal of the hosting platform (Noon Chorus) to confirm or deny it when a viewer asked, and coincidentally, I saw one of the drummers (Kieran Adams) chilling out at a porch hang on Grace St that same day.
Over the next hour, the audience was treated to a 10-piece band all dressed in black suits, dramatically lit by pulsing fluorescent lights, playing great music perfectly mixed from the sound board. I actually prefer this "studio broadcast" compared to a live venue. Lindeman's lyrical prowess is top-notch, but her delicate vocals would be swamped by most sound set-ups. With her voice front and centred, it was clear on songs like Atlantic, I Tried To Tell You, and Separated why critics are loving this new album. Her disco-ball jacket made an appearance on Robber, a scathing commentary about late-stage capitalism and our complicity. The only disappointment was that back-up vocalists Felicity Williams only joined on the final two numbers: Heart and Subdivisions. The blending of their voices was sublime.
It would have been nice for Lindeman to talk a little bit about her motivations and go into some details about her new music. Unfortunately, there's usually not much banter with these online shows. But it also made for a lean concert that finished in plenty of time for old fogies to get to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment