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Review:
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I like Azure Ray's album
-- it's probably close to the best new recording I've heard
thus far in 2001. But it does not rock - it's music to relax
to. So it wasn't too surprising when Azure Ray's stage show
was more or less non-existent, consisting of the two members
of Azure Ray strumming guitars while another woman played keyboards
and samples. However, the music and the voices of Orenda Fink
and Maria Taylor were so strong and entrancing that the majority
of the audience didn't even notice the lack of bells and whistles.
Furthermore, they sustained their intensity throughout the set,
despite a few of The Echo Lounge's now ubiquitous sound problems
and the minor background noise of people who'd come to the show
to talk and not listen. By the time they finished their set
(consisting of the better songs off of their debut album), I
was very impressed with Azure Ray. It's clear that the album
was no product of overdubs and retakes, but rather a real reflection
of their talent. They are definitely a band I'd like to see
again in the future.
Following a somewhat overlong interlude filled with too loud
filler music, Crooked Fingers took the stage and proceeded to
tune. Now in the past few years, I've seen this band (in various
incarnations) several times. But this evening took a surprising
turn when Eric Bachmann (the singer and songwriting force behind
the band) finished tuning, then turned to the audience and announced,
"We'd like to do a few songs out in the audience, so turn the
PA off."
And then he and the band (all two of 'em) hopped off the stage
and walked to the bar, where he promptly began to belt out New
Drink For The Old Drunk, backed by banjo and stand up bass.
I had no response to this - that's one of my favorite Crooked
Fingers' songs and this acoustic version was breath-taking.
As that song finished, Bachmann continued on with a similar
acoustic rendition of Prince's When U Were Mine (again,
another favorite) before finishing this mini-set with another
song off the first album.
Afterwards, they went back to the stage and plugged in. Over
the course of the set, Crooked Fingers focused mainly on material
from the first album. It sounded good, but that's not surprising
considering I've heard Bachmann et al play this stuff for over
2 years now. Still the stand-out songs of this performance were
the covers: Under Pressure, Fortunate Son, and
Sunday Morning Coming Down. Although he didn't write
any of these songs, Bachmann has the uncanny ability to take
someone else's work and make it entirely his own. While part
of this is due to Bachmann's unique voice, it seems like there's
something more going on. It's like Bachmann and his band are
acting as troubadours -- reading and, more importantly, giving
emotion to, other people's words. This isn't to suggest that
Crooked Fingers is unoriginal or should change totally to a
cover-band. However, it's clear that this ability is special
and should be encouraged.
After the concert, as we walked back to the car, I reflected
on the evening. It was a good night at The Echo Lounge: the
sound issues were kept to a minimum, the bands performed exceedingly
well, and the music was energetic as well as entertaining. After
a few disappointing evenings out, it was really nice to go to
a good show, if only to remind me of why I like concerts so
much.
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