[ATTENDED: April 16, 2018] Bedouine
When I bought the tickets for Waxahatchee I don’t think I knew who Bedouine was. Then I saw her on NPR and was absolutely struck by her. I don’t really know what it was, something about her singing style I’m sure, but she was mesmerizing.
So I was really excited to see her live. I didn’t really even know that much about her:
She was born Azniv Korkezian but chose the artist name Bedouine from the Arabic-speaking Bedouin people, who wander the Middle Eastern desert as nomads. Azniv herself was born in Aleppo, Syria to Armenian parents; she grew up on an American compound in Saudi Arabia. Her family moved to the U.S [when she was] age 10.
Azniv came out on stage with her guitar and a glass of water and an electric candle on a stool.
She began singing and for 30 minutes we were enveloped in a feeling of warmth and good tidings. Ironically, she herself was cold up on stage (it was pretty chilly that April night) and she had to warm her hands up after almost every song (the electric candle was no help).
Despite fact that she plays a very quiet guitar and her voice never rises above a quiet deepness, and despite the fact that the headliners were noisier bands, she commanded the room.
She had no set list (and no capo, she lamented after a few songs). She played seven or eight songs including a couple of new ones. There was even one song that did not have a name yet (she was looking for suggestions). I’m looking forward to what she picks.
Her style doesn’t deviate all that much between songs, but her lyrics are interesting and there’s her voice–you can hear virtually every breath as she exhales. It’s really wonderful. I enjoyed that she has a song called “Nice and Quiet” which sums up her style quite well.
But despite the dark lighting and reasonably serious subject matter, she was fully engaged with us. I was only two people from the stage and it often felt like she was singing to each of us individually. She even made some jokes to the audience: “This song is like one beat faster, so hold on to your hats.”
She also thanked us for coming early and listening to songs we didn’t know. But “Solitary Daughter” drew quite a reaction of familiarity which made her smile.
I don’t have a setlist, but I’m pretty sure she played
- You Kill Me
- Nice and Quiet
- Back to You
- Skyline
- new song
- Solitary Daughter
- Dusty Eyes
- One of These Days
There’s a fascinating interview with her on World Cafe. She talks about working as a sound editor for reality TV before she started singing . It’s fascinating to hear that she worked on: Cutthroat Kitchen; Catfish: The TV Show and The American Baking Competition. She describes it as a little soul sucking.
Glad she left that life for this one.
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I hadn’t heard of Gondola, the first of three bands this evening in The Black Box. They are a local Philly band with (apparently) a large following. They are the first opening band I have ever seen called back for an encore. They are also, subsequently the only band I’ve seen called back for an encore who was not allowed to play the encore because they ran out of time (apparently).
