Today's been great so far--Bang on a Can All-Stars, followed by Iva Bittova and Liturgy at the Annex and Dirty Projectors at the Tennessee Theatre.
Iva Bittova's a stunning performer--not entirely pleasant, but you dn't really want her to stop, either. She mixes classical violin training with Eastern European and Romani folk music and has a voice of unbelievable range. It's dramatic, virtuosic, unexpected, utterly brilliant.
The Brooklyn black metal band Liturgy somehow made perfect sense right after--they played most of their 2009 album Renihilation and one new song, totally loud as shit. They play an arty take on traditional BM, incorporating the foundational elements--blast beats, tremolo riffing, and shrieked vocals--with none of the theatrical stuff. Smart (they have a manifesto on "transcendental black metal" for sale), efficient (especially drummer Greg Fox--even his blast beats were all in the wrist and feet; he barely moved his arms above the elbow), imaginative. Black metal may seem an odd fit for Big Ears, but if you think that it's only because you haven't heard them. (They played at the Birdhouse last fall to about 30 people, and there were only about half that at the Annex. Liturgy plays again tonight at Pilot Light,supported by local thrasher Warband and local doom metal trudgers Argentinum Astrum.)
Dirty Projectors sounded great. Dave Longstreth is a weird guitarist, but everything worked great--the Tennessee was full, but it might have been just a bit big for the band. A mix of new and old songs, a quiet rendition of "Two Doves," and (okay, I left early) probably "Stillness Is the Move" at the end. A great band, idiosyncratic and smart with weird chops, but a little distant in the big room. A good argument that the best of Big Ears is in the small venues.
Iva Bittova's a stunning performer--not entirely pleasant, but you dn't really want her to stop, either. She mixes classical violin training with Eastern European and Romani folk music and has a voice of unbelievable range. It's dramatic, virtuosic, unexpected, utterly brilliant.
The Brooklyn black metal band Liturgy somehow made perfect sense right after--they played most of their 2009 album Renihilation and one new song, totally loud as shit. They play an arty take on traditional BM, incorporating the foundational elements--blast beats, tremolo riffing, and shrieked vocals--with none of the theatrical stuff. Smart (they have a manifesto on "transcendental black metal" for sale), efficient (especially drummer Greg Fox--even his blast beats were all in the wrist and feet; he barely moved his arms above the elbow), imaginative. Black metal may seem an odd fit for Big Ears, but if you think that it's only because you haven't heard them. (They played at the Birdhouse last fall to about 30 people, and there were only about half that at the Annex. Liturgy plays again tonight at Pilot Light,supported by local thrasher Warband and local doom metal trudgers Argentinum Astrum.)
Dirty Projectors sounded great. Dave Longstreth is a weird guitarist, but everything worked great--the Tennessee was full, but it might have been just a bit big for the band. A mix of new and old songs, a quiet rendition of "Two Doves," and (okay, I left early) probably "Stillness Is the Move" at the end. A great band, idiosyncratic and smart with weird chops, but a little distant in the big room. A good argument that the best of Big Ears is in the small venues.
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