This review is a little late, it's been a long week. But, my memories of the show are still pretty fresh. Cameo Gallery is less a gallery and more a hole behind a restaurant and bar. At least it's a good-sounding hole, though. Beer on tap might cost you as much as the cover charge ($7) but I thought it was worth it for Brooklyn Winter Ale. There was a small merch table set up near the bar, and I got a chance to ask a band member if they have any old tapes left - they're all out of Rejoice, and Kaddish was a CD-R, so if anyone was hoping to pick those up, it's too late. However, Rejoice was recently added to Spotify, along with the new album.
Andrew Cedermark opened, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had seen this band play a few months ago at Union Pool, at what was supposed to be a Secret Mountains show in December, canceled due to illness. Cedermark still played, but poorly. I don't know if they were nervous being the de facto headliners, or if the sound was just off that night, but they were a lot better at Cameo last week. You can check their stuff out on bandcamp. Day Joy, the second opener, had some sound problems initially, but once they were set up, played an enjoyable and competent set. Their stuff can also be found on bandcamp. Both bands play good, if slightly uninspired, shoegazy rock.
Secret Mountains took the stage more or less on time, and they seemed a lot more sure of themselves than when I saw them last summer at Mercury Lounge. They opened with the new album's title track (which I had definitely heard live before, I think most likely at their Mercury Lounge show) and seemed set to play the record straight through - until their bassist snapped his first string on stage in all their four years together as a band, towards the end of Weepy Little Fingers. They didn't have any spare strings and he's a lefty, so there was a lot of downtime while they fixed it, by stealing a string off someone else's bass. At first, they told jokes. After they ran out of jokes, this happened (sorry for the terrible audio quality, it's my phone, not the sound at the venue). When people ask me why I bother seeing the same bands play live over and over, the answer is that it's shit like this that keeps me coming back.
Soon after the end of their improvised version of Rejoice, the bass was back in action, and so was the show, but they were now short on time. Still, they didn't seem too rushed, taking High Horse nice and slow, and jamming out a little on Golden Blue. Most of the live performances that night sounded very close to the versions on the record, which makes a lot of sense, since I imagine they've been rehearsing these songs this way for quite some time to get the record done. Here's hoping these songs will continue to evolve live, and diverge from the studio version in the future. The band was out of time after Golden Blue, but the crowd heckled the staff into allowing one more song. They played Remainder, finishing out the album. It's one of their only songs I haven't heard live or seen live myself, it's my favorite on the new record, and hearing it close the show was pretty much all I could have asked for from their first full-length gig (that both I and the band have had a chance to attend). Here are some more pictures from the gig. I have two more videos, of High Horse and Remainder, but the bass overwhelms my poor phone's mic. If anyone has a recording of this show, please contact me!
Andrew Bird performed this (and one other) new song last night at his first Gezelligheid show in New York City, which, for those unaware, is a series of shows Bird usually plays solo in Chicago at which he improvises on old songs and tries out new material. Riverside Church was an excellent choice of venue, Mr Bird was brandishing his typical awkward, mumbling charm, and the horns that festooned (that's right. "festooned") the stage behind him contributed a lot to both the visual and audible atmosphere, especially the pair of spinning Janus Horns (one much larger than the other) standing at center stage. The hornmaker's wares were on display along with Bird's own merchandise in the church lobby, and there were snacks.
There were two sets broken up by an intermission, both of which were quite long. Almost the entire Fingerlings 4 album was reprised, along with a much of this year's Break it Yourself and a smattering of older songs, like the Dylan cover "Oh Sister" and the frequent live show favorite, "Plasticities". The single, "Eyeoneye", and another track, "Orpheo Looks Back", both got a special, softer treatment for this show, which was quite special indeed. Tift Merritt contributed guitar and vocal accompaniment at times, and I'd say it was the show's only (and very slight) bad mark, because she's definitely no Annie Clark. This is the second time I've seen her contribute vocals at an Andrew Bird show in New York City and she frankly seems like a poor match. I'm probably just being overly picky, she's definitely competent, I'm just not happy with what is clearly a deliberate choice.
The second show (tonight, 12/11) is still not sold out as of this writing, and anyone skipping it without a good reason is a fool. Some of the performances from these and the shows in Chicago will likely be used for an upcoming Fingerlings album, if past habits are any indication. These shows are one of a kind (okay, 6-8 of a kind per outing, whatever) and are not to be missed. Belowyoumay find the other new song - an untitled instrumental introduced as yet innocent because he hasn't had to come up with lyrics for it; before it has "the burden of ideas" - and a song released on the recent Hands of Glory record called "Something Biblical".
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A quick note about the recent hiatus - there was one. Yep. Will posts be resuming regularly? Watch this space to find out!
