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Review:
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It was a Wednesday night, and I had no business
planning to go to a show. But, as surprising
as this may seem for me, I really like Atlanta band Envie,
with their odd combination of slightly punk drumming, vaguely
droning cello, and intensely emphatic keyboards and harp. While
other Minions may tend to see this band as a rock-influence
chamber-esque ensemble, I feel the energy that swells up from
their incredibly focused and intense performances. They tend
to play with a precision and passion that I don’t witness in
many of the bands I see, and it’s a quality I certainly appreciate.
Anyway, in short, for those reasons, I decided to go ahead
and venture out on a weeknight. So with non-Minion Kurt in tow,
I arrived at The EARL just in time for Envie to take the stage.
Although occasionally I’ve seen their line-up augmented by extra
musicians, on this evening Envie played as a three piece, with
drums, cello, and harp/keyboards/vocals. And tonight it seemed
like the focus of the set was on the drums, which is likely
an effect of the mix in The EARL. Truth be told, I kinda liked
this because Envie’s newish drummer, Kevin, plays his kit in
a strong and determined manner, so that it really drives the
energy of the rest of the band. And, honestly, I like good drumming.
However, the sound in The EARL seemed liked something of a
zero-sum game. With the drums so loud, Deisha Oliver’s cello
came across as really low in the mix, so it was more of an understated
drone than normal. Nevertheless, Renee Nelson’s harp and voice
remained towards the fore-front of everything. Normally I don’t
like hearing too much vocals but, in Nelson’s case her voice
acts primarily as another instrument, so it isn’t distracting
or overwhelming. So, despite a few minor mistakes (which I’m
sure weren’t noticeable to most in the crowd), Envie’s set came
across as energetic and compelling, like the best of their music,
although it seemed a bit short. Still that may have been merely
my perceptions, since I was enjoying their set, and especially
the drumming, so very much. And at the end, even the attending
non-Minion was impressed, and thought he might like to see them
again.
So, after that set, I wasn’t sure what to expect next. I had
heard little about the next band, Seattle’s Carissa’s Weird.
But when I looked up and saw a 6 piece band take the stage,
I figured it would likely be interesting. From the beginning,
I found their music to be very slow and melodic, without being
either plodding or meandering. I particularly found the violin’s
interplay with the guitars to be oddly soothing and also liked
the understated tone of it all. It always surprises me how 6
people can sound so rich and full musically, while still seeming
so minimalist when you actually focus on the components of the
songs.
As Carissa’s Weird’s set progressed, I began to appreciate
the soothing vocal interplay of the male vocalist with the female
back up. In some ways, the slight twang of Mat Brooke’s voice
combined with the overall tone to remind me vaguely of Gram
Parsons, or perhaps, more importantly, of Aaron Blount (from
Knife in the Water).
Like Blount, Brooke’s voice isn’t absolutely perfect, but it
works within the context and flow of the backing music and becomes
something quite beautiful. In short, I was absolutely blown
away by Carissa’s Weird, and I was certain I’d made an excellent
choice by coming out to see them.
However, as Carissa’s Weird’s set came to a close, my non-Minion
companion pointed out that it was, in fact, a week night and
that he, at the least, had to get up early to work. So, after
a few minutes of debate, we decided to leave. And that meant
I never got to hear the ostensible head liners, Mantissa. Now,
Mantissa are a local band about whom I’ve heard a great deal
(pretty much all of it a glowing), and I was really looking
forward to seeing them for the first time. However, I suspect
that leaving was, in the end, a good choice, for I doubt anything
could have topped the performances of the first two bands.
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