[ATTENDED: September 28, 2017] Torres
I saw Torres play Union Transfer about four months ago. She opened for Frightened Rabbit and I really enjoyed her set. So I was pretty excited to see her at Boot & Saddle, where she was headlining.
I didn’t realize it was the first night of the tour for her new album Three Futures–she claimed to be very nervous.
It was quite a different show and Torres herself, Mackenzie Scott, was quite different. At Union Transfer, she seemed kind of distant and aloof. And it was a really effective persona–she really wowed the crowd who may not have been there to see her. But at this show some of that veneer dropped away–there were some jokes and some smiles.
Torres’ previous album, Sprinter has some great noisy guitar stuff. The new one has more synth and a much more spare, but interesting, guitar.
Boot & Saddle is such an amazing place to see an artist (if you can get close, that is). I was one person from the stage and I could see everything that she did–I love watching her stomp on her effects boxes as she switches sounds.
Her setlist was similar to the one at Union Transfer. She played a couple new songs. Like last time, she played “Skim” and then a couple songs from Sprinter. A terrific version of “New Skin.” and “Sprinter.” One from her debut, and then back to the new album for the closing.
Knowing her new stuff a little better, I really enjoyed the subtlety of it all–hearing some of those same new songs a second time (so different from her previous album), they made a lot more sense. And I really enjoyed the spareness of them–allowing those haunting melodies, both vocal and guitar–room to breathe.
She had the same band as last time and they were again, excellent.
Erin Manning on keys plays a pretty dominant role in the music–even on the older songs, she plays some cool washes of sounds.
As with last time, guitarist Cameron Kapoor stood in the back playing all kinds of great noises. I couldn’t see him as much, but when ever I did I saw him noodling around on the fretboard or with the keys.
Drummer Dominic Cipolla was also right on with the spare but solid drumming.
Between songs she chatted sometimes. Like after Righteous Woman: the lyric is “I am not a righteous woman / I’m more of an ass man.” Someone said something about Ass Man. Earlier that day she had posted a photo of herself in an Ass Man hat (which I see was for sale at the show although I missed it). She laughed and said “I am an ass man.”
Midway through the set, when she began “Three Futures,” she smiled at the young woman in front of me, and as she was playing the opening notes, she came over to us and squatted down in front of the young woman and pressed her forehead to hers–I’ve never seen anything quite so personal and intimate in a show.
I was pleased that she played nearly all of the new album, (skipping only two songs) but I can’t help but think a few extra songs from Sprinter would have been really excellent. The show was barely 75 minutes. For some reason she started late–9:45 even though the opening act was off the stage by a little after 9. And I assume an 11 PM curfew, based on other shows. But her set list (which I saw) didn’t have anything else that she didn’t play.
I was definitely disappointed that she didn’t play “Strange Hellos.” She ended her last show with this song and it was incredibly intense. I was really looking forward to her playing it again in this small place. But maybe the venue was too small for it. Who knows. Whatever the case, I see that she has played it at every venue since, so I’m not sure why we didn’t get it.
Our final song “Concrete Ganesha” did have a very cool ending (although definitely not as intense as “Strange Hellos”).
That one disappointment aside, the set was great and the show was wonderfully intimate.
Tongue Slap Your Brains Out*- Skim*
- Righteous Woman*
- New Skin
- Honey
- Sprinter
- Cowboy Guilt
- Bad Baby Pie*
- Three Futures*
- Helen in the Woods*
- Marble Focus*
- Concrete Ganesha*
- from Three Futures
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