Juana Molina @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC 7/3/06
Juana comes from a background in television comedy, a bit of trivia thrust upon me by a friend as she handed me a copy of Tres Cosas a few years back. Latent stereotypes took hold as I pressed play on my CD player (remember those?), but those predispositions melted with each track, and I sat stunned. Then I laughed. It’s cruel when your friends play with your biases.
So I had no choice but to perpetuate the cruelty, setting up my unsuspecting companions at Juana’s Bowery gig. The result was the same, but I shared their amazement. In this live context, the depth of Juana’s minimalist textures and smoldering compositions was hypnotic and disarming. The rest of the night featured Psapp (Psucked) and a rather lifeless José Gonzélez (better at Spin). Miss Molina was a show stealer.
Her Bowery set focused on the Son material, undoubtedly this year's best after-after-party album. You've seen the tricks before – looped acoustic fingerpicking, layers of vocal harmonies, occasional scat singing, Frida Kahlo unibrow, etc. – but not in these hands, and not with such deft touch. Her compositions are rooted in Argentinean folk, but the genius lies in her ability to bend toward ambient electronica with such marked subtlety. Using phase shifters, plenty of keyboards and the sultry breathiness of her voice, Juana transformed the Ballroom into a surrealist soundscape. Didn't feel like the LES. Felt like a woozy walk through Argentinean alleys. On Absinthe.
You can see her tonight at the Seaport. You really should. In case you missed ‘em last time, here are some free MP3 links. Your iPod will love you.
Juana Molina – “Micael” (MP3)
Juana Molina – “Malherido” (MP3)
Juana Molina – “No Seas Antipatica” (MP3)
Posted at 1:51 PM in Concert, MP3
Tags: José González | Juana Molina
she looks scary!
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She looks fascinating, but the popover advert for The Eraser is blocking her name...
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Thats a wicked unabrow.
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She totally should've played Frida.
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that bump/unibrow cannot possibly be real
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Juana sure did transform the Ballroom. She's amazing. Nice work capturing the night. (Although I thought that Psapp was psorta fun :-)
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alas, the unibrow was fake. it doubled as a sweat squeegee for her forehead. let's see frida do *that*!
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she looks like that little boy in that Cher movie...
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She was probably celebrating the addition of "unibrow" to the dictionary:
http://business.bostonherald.com/technologyNews/view.bg?articleid=147312
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I witnessed Molina's fantastic live show here in Toronto (same line-up as NYC) and she blew away Psapp and Gonzalez. Fucking incredible!
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In that last photo she looks like Kevin MacDonald, the most underappreciated Kid in the Hall.
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Yes, this was a great show. My first experience with Jose Gonz and I really liked him.
But Molina stole the show. My wife and friends also caught her at the Outside Show but I missed it.
Love Juana's albums, all 3 of them (or are there 4?)
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What did you dislike so much about Psapp? I saw them at the MFA in Boston and they were so on the mark. Maybe they were nervous in NYC?
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hahaha ditto on the kevin macdonald comment
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There is a First album called Rara, produced by Gustavo Santaolalla y anybody want it i can upload it somewhere... its a raritie and its not produced anymore...
cheers
f
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yes, erin, please upload that album on rapidshare! pleeeeeease...
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blackjack ballroom blackjack ballroom
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Nothing can beat an intelligent women
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Viva Juana Molina!!
Juana Molina fans will also likely be happy to know that Colombian alternative icons ATERCIOPELADOS are finally releasing a new album ("Oye") and touring the U.S. in support of it. And it's about time - I've waited 5 years for a new Aterciopelados studio album!!
I checked out some of the new music on their site - www.myspace.com/aterciopelados
Here are the U.S. tour dates for Aterciopelados:
Oct. 28th – Miami @ Rock en Ñ, Miami Performing Arts Center
Oct. 30th – Orlando @ Club Hush
Nov. 1st – New York @ SOBs
Nov. 3rd – Chicago @ Green Dolphin Street
Nov. 6th – Anaheim, CA @ JC Fandango
Nov. 8th – Los Angeles @ Henry Fonda Theatre
Nov. 9th – Riverside, CA @ Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Nov. 10th – Sunnyvale, CA @ Club Barcelona
Nov. 12th – San Francisco @ Slim’s
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HOLA, SOY DE ARGENTINA, NO SE DE DONDE SERAN USTEDES. PERO BUENO, JUANA ES UNA IDOLA ACA PORQUE ELLA ERA MUY BUENA ACTRIZ Y DEJO TODO POR LA MUSICA. Y BIEN QUE HIZO, PORQUE SE TRANSFORMO EN UN ÍCONO DE ARGENTINA PARA EL MUNDO.
SALUDOS!!!
FEDE
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