Crikey! Last night Lindsay and I stumbled across one of the most mysterious creatures in the world. They’ve been rumored to exist for as long as mans been alive, but I’ve always thought of them in the same way I think of the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch, and the Chubracabra. Sure, you’ve seen pictures but never a real life sighting! As luck would have it, we witnessed the elusive Sheila, in her natural habitat; drinking, chanting, and participating in some sort of a rhythmic display. It’s with great pleasure that I can now declare: The cutesy lesbian – YES, just like those nice ones you see on TV and the internet - does exist! And luckily for mankind everywhere, their species appears to be thriving in the crowd of a Feist concert. I guess I severely underestimated the appeal of ethereally feminine vocals on the female persuasion.
Okay…now for the actual review of the show...
Feist started off the set list a cappella while singing behind a back lit white screen. Her vocals were spot on and as you'll notice in the clip below...she was looping her voice the whole time. Nice way to start off a show. The first half was a compilation of older and slower tracks, which I had never heard before. None of which were bad, per se, but I wasn’t alone with my feelings of boredom. We did however take full advantage of the downer tracks to gossip that all the ladies around us appeared to be very “close friends.” I think Kelly and Lindsay were glad I was there to affirm that they were “not a couple.”
The later half of show picked up a bit with a smattering of tracks from The Reminder dropped in, here and there, but was still relatively low key. The crowd got really into the up-beat tracks, sang along and danced like crazy people…so I found it odd that she kept launching back into these rambling waltzy songs. One thing I was not a fan of was her encore. She played a decent track solo for the first song, then launched into the up-beat jam Sea Lion Woman – which should’ve been her closer, but instead she closed with this super slow song that put everyone to sleep. Sea Lion builds and builds and builds, so why not end on that? Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I like to end the show on a high…not yawning.
On the bright side, her band was great and had a lot of variety of instrumentation. Keys, clav, flugelhorn, sax, trumpet, bells…it was all there. At one point the dude was playing bass, and the next he’s got a flute in his hands…it played well. I also really liked that she was looping her guitar and vocals through most of the show, which served well to create all those rich layers you love from the album. Through out the entire show she sounded great, the crowd was into it, and visually there was some cool stuff going on (I’ll get into that later).
The later half of show picked up a bit with a smattering of tracks from The Reminder dropped in, here and there, but was still relatively low key. The crowd got really into the up-beat tracks, sang along and danced like crazy people…so I found it odd that she kept launching back into these rambling waltzy songs. One thing I was not a fan of was her encore. She played a decent track solo for the first song, then launched into the up-beat jam Sea Lion Woman – which should’ve been her closer, but instead she closed with this super slow song that put everyone to sleep. Sea Lion builds and builds and builds, so why not end on that? Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I like to end the show on a high…not yawning.
On the bright side, her band was great and had a lot of variety of instrumentation. Keys, clav, flugelhorn, sax, trumpet, bells…it was all there. At one point the dude was playing bass, and the next he’s got a flute in his hands…it played well. I also really liked that she was looping her guitar and vocals through most of the show, which served well to create all those rich layers you love from the album. Through out the entire show she sounded great, the crowd was into it, and visually there was some cool stuff going on (I’ll get into that later).
Overall, I was really impressed with the total package Feist put together, but would’ve liked to have a different set list. The Reminder has some real jams on it, which would’ve played better than the downers she was playing. It’s tough to play tracks like that in venue that big. I’m not saying she should be playing at Starbucks or anything, but maybe someplace like Bass Hall would have been better suited for her. Oh well…maybe next time…
Highlights from the show…
- Amazing slide show done during the show via real-time visual artist Shary Boyd (http://www.sharyboyle.com/) …slides, mulit-layered paintings, foliage, fabrics, and her own hands projected onto a screen. Trust me, it was much cooler than it sounds
- Group of girls dancing in front of us through out the show. At one point a girl ran and slid on her stomach under the other girls legs. It was entertaining to say the least
- Favorite songs: The Opening track (vid below), Mushaboom, Sea Lion Woman, My Moon My Man, and NOT CLOSING with 1-2-3-4
Opening song from last night… (jump to :50 in)
Mushaboom and cool light slide show thing…
Mushaboom and cool light slide show thing…
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