Posted in Katie Malco, Philadelphia, PA, Soak on February 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: February 5, 2023] SOAK. / Katie Malco
I saw SOAK. four years ago and really enjoyed the show. It was intimate and Bridie Monds-Watson was compelling and powerful.
I was really excited that she and Katie Malco were going to come to the States for a small tour. Their location in Philly was TBD, but there are so many venues in Philly that I assumed they’d have no trouble securing a spot. (more…)
Posted in Charly Bliss, Emily Reo, Margaret Glaspy, Philadelphia, PA, Soak, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Foundry on November 14, 2019| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: November 14, 2019] Emily Reo [rescheduled from June 6]
I hadn’t heard of Emily Reo before this show. She was supposed to open for Charly Bliss back in June when the show was postponed. Reo opened on the rest of those shows so it was nice she was brought back for this extra show as well.
Emily joked about mid-way through the set saying she hoped she requested the day off from work…otherwise she might not have a job tomorrow. Not sure what her job was, but that was certainly endearing. It also made me want to buy a CD (or a cool shirt) from her, but the line was massive (good for her).
Emily Reo is a musician and recording engineer from Brooklyn. She has been putting out music for ten years. and has about a dozen releases. Most of the songs in this show came from her newest album, 2019’s Only You Can See It.
I don’t remember the names of her live band mates, (sorry guys), but they played a simple drum, bass and guitar foundation for the synths and vocals that made up the bulk or Reo’s sound.
Reo had a keyboard rack in front of her. But I was really intrigued by her voice. In addition to being powerful with a decent range, she multi-tracked her voice throughout the show. I couldn’t tell if the extra vocals were prerecorded or modified live, but her backing vocals often had some kind of processing on it (or just a simple echo) to make her voice seem huge.
You can hear some of the vocal tracking (and a nice guitar solo) on “Sundowning.”
I loved the drumming in “Fleur.” In fact, I liked the drumming in a lot of the songs–a lot of toms and interesting patterns. She has some really cool vocal melodies on a lot of these songs like the really fast chorus vocals in this song. Although I can tell I was too close because in the videos you can’t really hear her vocals all that well.
“Ghosting” has some great high notes that really showed off her range. There some more complex drumming in the middle. She also does a few different vocals styles in this song.
After a few songs I saw her pick up a keytar. If you play a keytar I’m going to be pretty excited. If you use it as a midi-controller, creating all kinds of interesting sounds while also playing the main keyboard lines, I’m going to be super impressed. This happened in “Balloon.” Many times, the vocals were all kinds of processed, giving the a very cool robotic sound.
She played one song from 2013’s Olive Juice. “Peach” sounded very different, including using a programmed drum pattern (the live drummer did join in, but the dominant sound was the electric drum). It was also the simplest song of the night (the chord progression of the verses was so simple as to be almost a joke). The bridges has some cool sound effects thrown on top, but overall it makes me think that this album isn’t as strong as the newer one.
Once again, though I am really bummed by the lighting. That magenta–barf. They had even brought their own lighting projector which sent shapes on the wall behind them. But it couldn’t defeat the pink.
I loved the guitar riff and build up in “Candy.” There were also some interesting vocal filters (and you can actually hear the vocals in this video) for this song. The drums were quiet but were cool with lots of little clicks and pops. “Strawberry” started with a sequencer playing a line of keyboard notes. New sounds were slowly added as the song grew more complex. until it resolved in a simple melody with a prominent guitar riff and layered vocals. The most memorable part of the song came at he end when, through a filter that sounded a bit like a megaphone, she sang lyrics that were almost like a cheerleader:
what do you deserve from me
n-o-t-h-i-n-g
why do you always have to be
so c-r-y-p-t-i-c
save the calls for my kitty
c-h-a-r-l-i-e
wish you had earned that PHD
in r-e-s-p-e-c-t
how many girls in this city
are getting t-i-r-e-d
finding a sense of security
through h-i-d-i-n-g
wish i could swim but i’m in your teeth
b-l-e-e-d-i-n-g
wish you had earned that PHD
in r-e-s-p-e-c-t
And who doesn’t love songs with lyrics that you have to spell?
Interestingly, the Charlie might be the person in my favorite song, the set ending “Charlie.” The song was a slow burner with some big soaring vocals and terrific harmonies.
She was an enjoyable opening act and I ‘m glad to have heard her.
One observation about her voice.
On record she has a delivery that I’ve noticed a lot of women seem to have lately and I can’t decide if its an affectation or an accent or an age thing or what. The women who do it are not from the same place, so it can’t be an accent). You can hear it in the way she sings the first line of “Sundowning.” From 30-40 seconds, the lines “something familiar caught in a smokescreen / locked in a mirror.” The way she sings the word “mirror” is weirdly affected. You can also hear it from 2:55- 3:00 in “Ghosting” (“from a hollow tree / I’ve been spirit hosting”). Other singers who have this kind of delivery include Margaret Glaspy (who is from California). At around 48 seconds in “You and I,” listen to the way she sings “out on parade” is that same delivery but so excessive it’s practically slurred. And around 1:40 ” I think you might be harboring a heartache” is just full of that delivery. What is is called? Also SOAK (who is from Northern Ireland and may actually have an accent in her delivery), but the way she sings “B a noBody” has a lot ofthat delivery in the first lines and in the way she sings “c’mon c’mon.” Perhaps it’s generational.
SETLIST
* 2019 = Only You Can See
⊗ 2013 = Olive Juice
Posted in Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, Soak on February 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: February 1, 2019] SOAK.
I first heard about SOAK. from NPR a few years ago I really enjoyed their songs and Bridie’s delivery was endearing and peculiar. The songs were quiet and thoughtful and had catchy choruses.
When I saw that SOAK. was playing Boot and Saddle I looked up and found out that SOAK.’s debut came out four years ago! And that they hadn’t been to the States on a tour for three years. Then when I saw that this tour was only a handful of dates, I decided I had to see them.
I actually assumed that it would be Bridie solo. So I was quite surprised to see a full band set up on stage. I don’t know what’s happened since the last album, or if the lives shows were always like this, but this show absolutely rocked.
It opened with a pre-recorded intro (Bridie later explained that the album is kind of a concept album and this opening is on the record as well–I think it’s Bridie’s grandfather reciting it). Then they launched into the first song on the album and it was great. (more…)
Posted in Boot & Saddle, claud, Philadelphia, PA, Soak, Toast on February 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: February 1, 2019] claud
claud is a singer-songwriter who was part of the duo named Toast. Now claud is a solo artist, although for this set they were joined by Ondine, who played synth and clapped (and sang some backing vocals).
There had been some minimal snow that day, but it seemed to really mess up the Philly streets. So even though I left early, I couldn’t find a parking spot for about fifteen minutes. I wound up missing two or three songs from claud’s set.
But when I arrived it wasn’t very crowded, so I was able to get close enough to see them both clearly.
I really liked claud’s voice. It was clear and quiet but not whispered. I also really enjoyed the delicate guitar sounds that claud got–even when a song had a loud thumping bass, like “Giving In.” (more…)
Posted in #10yearsof01, Andy Shauf, Canadian Music, Death, Fire, First Second :01, Graphic Novel, Horses, Racism, Sexism, Soak, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Unlikable main character, Violence on June 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »
SOUNDTRACK: ANDY SHAUF-Tiny Desk Concert #533 (May 20, 2016).
I was unfamiliar with Andy Shauf although once he started playing, I thought his songs sounded familiar. One of the more interesting thing about him is his singing enunciation (which reminds me a bit of SOAK for a recent comparison–although she is from Northern Ireland and he is from Saskatchewan).
It’s interesting to me that Shauf plays only rhythm guitar–all of the melody lines and solos come from his keyboardist. It’s also interesting how motionless Shauf is. He stands quite still and doesn’t even really move as he sings (his voice is mellow but not exactly quiet).
“The Magician” has as some great riffs from the keyboard and some interesting chord changes as the song draws to and end. And of course, Shauf’s calming, delightful voice (complete with do do do dos) make the song quite lovely.
“To You” sounds similar to the first–same basic tempo and tone, with nice little fills that elevate the song from a simple chord structure.
His final song, “You’re Out Wasting” is “an older song” from his last album. There’s another great melody running through this song and it’s a bit more uptempo.
I’m not sure if it’s his hair or his posture but he looks uncomfortably hunched-over while playing. But that doesn’t stop his voice from sounding great and his songwriting from being really enjoyable.
[READ: February 2, 2016] Slow Storm
I really like the way Novgorodoff works with watercolors to create cool backgrounds. However, I don’t really like the way she uses her pen–I don’t care for the look of her characters. And I don’t love the hand lettering all that much either.
This story is one that I wouldn’t read if it weren’t a First Second book. And while I’m glad I read it and I found the convergence s of characters to be really interesting, it was a rough road getting thee.
The story begins with no words, just a series of images that juxtapose a tornado/storm and the Kentucky Derby. The storm is hitting a barn where horses are kept, so these horses are also running, but hey are frightened of course (I especially didn’t like the style of the frightened horses).
Then we see a man get hurled by the tornado into a barn. (more…)
Posted in Books about writers, Jane Austen, Mary Wollstonecraft, Nina Cosford, Soak, Tiny Desk Concert, Zena Alkayat on August 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »
SOUNDTRACK: SOAK-Tiny Desk Concert #459 (August 3, 2015).
Soak is Bridie Monds-Watson. I hate to mention this, because it’s not the focus, but it is impressive that she’s only 19. And her voice is really lovely.
I recently bought her album Before We Forgot How To Dream, and it’s really good. The arrangements are complex and thoughtful. And the album is beautifully orchestrated. So this stripped down performance shows that she’s not all about production.
Her voice is pretty heavily accented and is almost a mumble, but not quite–it’s the kind of quiet voice that makes you lean in to hear.
The opening track, “Sea Creatures” (an amazing single) sounds pretty with just the acoustic guitar (I prefer the album version, but this is a really neat rendition). For “B a noBody” and “Wait” she switches to an electric guitar. It’s got a cool echo effect on it, but it is still quiet and hushed.
She says that she’s nervous playing at the Tiny Desk, but that looking around at all the CDs and poster it “feels like my bedroom.” This is another delightfully intimate performance behind the Tiny Desk.
Bob Boilen did an interview with her a few weeks ago and she really won me over with her musical knowledge and sense of humor.
[READ: June 4, 2015] Jane Austen
This book also comes from the series called Life Portraits.
This is a very brief (128 pages, but mostly one sentence per page) biography of Jane Austen. But the real “selling” points of the book are the beautiful illustrations/paintings by Nina Cosford. They are lovely watercolors which do a great job illustrating whatever detail is listed on the page.
We get basic birth details–born Jane Austen on 16th December 1775. She grew up on a farm with six brothers and one sister. There’s even an illustrated family tree.
Her parents turned their farm into a boarding school so she knew lots of children. But it was her cousin Eliza, a fantastic woman married to a European Count who spoke French and wore continental fashions who became Jane’s lifelong friend. With Eliza around, all the girls talked about marriage and money. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 