Joanna Newsom @ BAM, Brooklyn 2/1/08
By Amrit Singh
Usually when I fall for an artist, I'm left a love-blinded fool, a sorry slave to a surge of endorphins, certain that the only reason said artist isn't your favorite artist is because maybe you haven't heard of them yet. When a friend says they don't see it, I'm dumbfounded, scared, shivering, alone. With Joanna Newsom, though, I totally get it. I get why some friends turn up a nose, demand a track-skip. There's her voice, a more affected strain of Kate Bush-isness that's sure to grate on some ears; the whole sylvian nymph thing, what with the woodsy promo shots and the elven visage, a fable-ready sort of preciousness; add the pretension of playing the harp ("the harp! who does she think she is!"), and yes even just her beauty (this annoys, or at least polarizes, some I know and makes them question her appeal to, say, guys like me). And all I'm saying is, friend, being at BAM would've turned you.
Never mind the rare pleasure of hearing the full-bodied Ys suites accompanied by the versatile Brooklyn Philharmonic, rendering Van Dyke Park's piquant orchestral arrangements to the note. Never mind the beauty of the space, the walls, the sheer occasion of it. The real story, for me, was how warm, real, self-aware, and magnetic Joanna was, herself. Her voice was a less caricaturized version of her own, all the beauty, less the unnecessary affect (at the edges, anyway). Her banter let on someone who knew well what we thought of her, and would have fun slowly dispelling it. "My hairdresser is here tonight, and he's gonna kill me." Wait, is she secretly a diva? "Because I cut my own hair. It was getting to be too much!" And after a spine-tingling "Sawdust & Diamonds" -- a first set highlight, not coincidentally Ys's only solo song -- she broke the five-minute applause to say "Haidresser ... that's a word, right? That burning thought was why that performance was just, ehh."
So if I'm not showing my hand yet: When set two was down to just the Ys Street Band (violin, drums, banjo) -- to play Milk-Eyed Mender tunes, "Colleen" from the EP, some new stuff -- the night only got stronger. Now you could focus on the intricacies of her playing, of her flawless technique and countermelodic arpeggiation. Now you could hear the way the quartet interacted and fed off of her direction, best seen in the amazing rearrangement of "Peach Plum Pear." Pretty much, now you could focus on her -- with less performers to feel guilty about ignoring. Joanna basked in the interpersonal dynamic of her quartet, their last show together after a year of touring, talking about Obama, talking about their dads, finally sending them off the stage, saying sadly, "Usually I make fun of them as they head off, but this is the last time we're playing together and I'm emotional about it." (After the requisite round of "Awwww"s, she delivered: "Just kidding I totally hate them.")
The orchestral set was black dress, the quartet set was pink. Here's pink:
Yes, fab people were there like Maggie Gyllenhaal and Sufjan Stevens and the Indian guy from Weeds/30 Rock (gotta love that). You've probably heard the cast of Saturday Night Live turned up Thursday night. You've probably also seen those pics of her and Samberg being cozy from months ago. Andy came again for a second helping (heads up, Smog) our night, and now, finally, I understand what the two of them could possibly talk about: pretty much anything.
Did you say you wanted a Pinback-esque cover of "Emily"? I thought so. Here.
Pictures and setlist below, and after that, super shaky video of second-set opener "Bridges And Balloons."
SETLIST
01 "Emily"
02 "Monkey & Bear"
03 "Sawdust & Diamonds"
04 "Only Skin"
05 "Cosmia"
--
06 "Bridges And Balloons"
07 "Book Of Right On"
08 "Colleen"
09 "Inflammatory Writ"
10 (New Song)
11 "Peach Plum Pear"
12 "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie"
13 (New Song -- this one)
--
14 Karen Dalton cover (w/ Kevin Barker on banjo)
Posted at 8:08 PM in Concert, Video
Tags: Joanna Newsom
She's really flat chested. Her voice however is so fragile and pure that it makes the manly instinct in you want to violate her sacred spaces anyways.
Score = -3
Thank you, YYYY, for that massive TMI.
Score = 1
hmm, I'm not the biggest Joanna Newsom fan for most of the reasons you listed...in fact, one of my guy friends is always trying to get me to like her and I always feel like it's just because he's totally in love with her
but that being said, I love that pink dress!
Score = -1
I stopped at the first sentence, or rather run-on, because I could discern from the get-go how well-versed in the ways of grammar you are.
Great review!
Score = -1
She was so charming.
"Hairdresser ... is that like saying 'lady astronaut'"?
I don't even get the joke, but I liked her delivery.
What was the instrument Ryan was playing when he wasn't playing banjo? Was that a tamboura?
Anyone convinced to vote for Obama by Neal Morgan at the merch table?
Score = 1
that "oh you just like her cause she's hot" thing seems a bit odd to me. what guy in their right mind would listen to joanna newsom, considering her voice (and the whole harp thing) just because she's cute and tucks her hair behind her ears?
but awesome review.
Score = 1
I completely agree with much of what you said. Joanna Newsom is incredibly hot, in so many ways. ~sigh~
Score = 2
'Same Old Man' is the title of the Karen Dalton cover.
Score = 0
i love love love joanna newsom so much. she alone makes life worth living sometimes. and that version of bridges & balloons is so indescribably amazing! very nice review, too.
Score = 1
I hope I see her live at least once before I die...
Decent review. Regarding the arbitrary nod to the 'Emily' Cover:
Reducing a beautiful song like 'Emily' to traditional rock instrumentation is like transcribing a Beethoven symphony to solo piano. It's nice, but doesn't even come close to the original. Especially Perdue's voice... Really dry delivery. I love earnestness and honesty in music (one of the reasons I love Joanna), but this cover needs a little bit of affectation to match Joanna's masterful delivery. Nice job transcribing the music, though. Just don't cover Joanna again.
and...
regarding the first comment here, does breast size have anything to do with music, or the appreciation thereof?
Score = 0
Well, until she tours places outside of L.A. and New York, I'll still keep thinking she sucks I guess.
Score = -1
you know, i hated the first record, couldn't stand her vocal tics (putting it politely). when Ys came out, so many people i trusted seemed to gush over it, i gave it a chance. she reined in her voice, a bit, loved the orchestration. i even convinced myself i liked it. but then i didn't listen to it for several months. reading about her, the last couple of days, i decided to revisit. just got done listening, in fact. now, i am back to hating her. don't get me wrong, there are elements that i enjoy, and i can appreciate what others hear in her music, but GOOD GOD. maybe if i saw the live show, i might be enraptured, but on my headphones, we're more in "willfully odd lit undergrad off her meds" territory. kate bush? she wishes. more like a tori amos for the LARP-ing set. no sir, not for me. but, as always, i'm just happy that people still get excited about music, so, hopefully, no hard feelings. there will be a used copy available soon-ish. best wishes.
Score = 0
i've got a brand new pair of rollerskates
Score = 0
i think the brilliance of the cover is how decidedly indie-rockist it is. Newsom's vocal intricacies are well documented, so why would we want Perdue to try to replicate that? There is a total Pinback thing going on, but it's hard to imagine this cover any other way. At least he didn't try to do it punk or something lame like that. Couple that with the fact that this dude recorded all the instruments and vocals on his own, and you have the dual reaction of both "wow" and "why?" i think it came out great.
Score = 1
ugh did not like the cover at all! amateur and uninspired to my ears.
ps YYYawns indeed.
Score = 0
too, many, commas, thankyou.
joanna newsom is beautiful too. oh, and hermusicisgoodalsowhatever.
Score = -1
"Now you could focus on the intricacies of her playing, of her flawless technique and countermelodic arpeggiation"
Why must you write like this?
Score = -1
Great write up; I don't know why I didn't see this until now. Yeah, she def turned me from indifferent to gaga. Amazing, transporting show. Being able to sit down didn't hurt, either. By the way, as if the Newsom Set 2 costume-change eye candy on stage wasn't frustrating enough, did anyone happen to notice the totally disproportionate number of hot broads in the audience at this show? Wall to wall!
Score = 0