[ATTENDED: March 10, 2017] Twin Limb
I had never heard of Twin Limb when they opened for Strand of Oaks. So I was pretty surprised to walk in on them setting up and to notice a giant accordion on the left side of the stage.
And then on the right side of the stage, facing the accordion was the drumset. In between was a guy with a guitar.
Twin Limb is the creation of Maryliz Bender (drums, vocals) and Lacey Guthrie (accordion, vocals). I’m not sure exactly what they sounded like initially. But a year or so after they formed, they teamed up with Kevin Ratterman (sampled sounds, guitar) and their sound evidently changed pretty dramatically.
I don’t know what it was before, but it was fantastic when I saw them.
I didn’t know any of their songs at the time–I bought both of their discs and have enjoyed them very much–and I’m pretty sure I know the one song that really sealed it for me–“Odessa” but that song came near the end.
The first few songs had Guthrie playing the accordion and singing lead. I marvelled at how huge the accordion was! But I also noticed that she had a lot of foot pedals, so I assume she was modifying the sounds somewhat–it didn’t always sound like an accordion–but then there were some other sounds coming from other places–who knows how they were doing things.
Bender sang lead on a couple of songs–and provided harmonies on nearly every other one. I really enjoyed her drumming style–simple and often gentle (she used big fuzzy mallets on a few songs), but with occasional dramatic bursts. She was pretty far on the other side of the stage and between the tall guys and the large electronic pad in front of her, so I never really got a good picture.
And then in the middle of the two was Ratterman. He was fun to watch, his hair all over the place and, with the lights almost always in the red, a kind of reddish halo surrounding him. He played interesting and unusual guitar passages. Between and during songs he walked over to a laptop and did something or other. I was never clear who was making what sounds–but the whole set was full of moody, washes of music and the women’s gentry echoed voices.
About midway through the set, Guthrie stood up (and did not let that massive accordion crash to the ground) and played a few songs on the keyboard instead. These songs were a bit more mellow it seemed, because when she sat back with the accordion, I felt like the songs were even more intense.
I also really enjoyed watching Guthrie get into the drum tracks–stomping her foot along with the beat while playing the accordion.
And of course, Ratterman was pretty close and I was fascinated by the chords he was playing.
So I don’t have a setlist, but I’m pretty sure they played “The Weather” and “Odessa” (a new song) but beyond that I just have to remember the warm, enveloping feeling they generated.
I was bummed that their set ended when it did.
Leave a Reply