Laura Veirs at the Cafe du Nord, review, photos
Last night I saw Laura Veirs (myspace) at the Cafe du Nord (which Paste recently named one of the top 40 clubs in America).
Lake was the first band up after I got there. They are a double boy, double girl musical-chairs sort of band. They played some nice subdued indie pop with both male and female lead vocals. (I liked the male lead better; my friend Dave liked the female lead songs better.) It was a surprisingly nice set and I picked up their self-titled CD which was recommended to me by John Ringhofer who was at the show. Oh, and do you know what they were selling? Cassettes! Who sells cassettes any more??
Lake – Behave (mp3) (lake stuff available here)
There was quite a crowd there for Lake, but by the time Laura Veirs and the Saltbreakers (her band) went on, it was pretty packed. They came out in coordinated outfits (that Karl designed—all with applique designs of nautical, music or nature themes).
On recordings Laura does these often precise loops that are very cool in the way they layer or there’s interesting production. Live, things are less precise, but, last night, they were more rocking [1]. The whole band seemed happy to be there, it being almost the end of a long tour, a receptive crowd, and family in the house[2].
I don’t remember much of the set list, but she played a lot off the new album, including opening with “Pink Light” and also “Saltbreakers”, “To the Country”, “Drink Deep”(?) and “Nightingale”. There were also a handful off of Year of Meteors including “Galaxies” and, one of my favorites, “Where Gravity is Dead”.
There were a few people that were dancin’ crazy right in front of me. If they’re reading this: I love you guys. You made Laura’s (as she said) and my night. Well that and the great music made the night.
All in all, it was a pretty great show. I love having the headliner play well along with a surprisingly good opener. That’s a good combination.
Tucker Martine
Karl Blau
[1] I’ve seen Laura twice before, once with a backing band and once solo. For the solo gig she played with a sampling pedal and employed a lot of those intricate loops.
[2] Funny coincidence: both the female lead from Lake’s mom was there and Laura’s mom (and dad) surprised her by coming to the show.
great show! – i got to stand behind Laura’s parents during the show.
She did great with both the vocals(loops) and on the strings.
and I liked the female fronted Lake songs too.
cheers,
Bobby
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