By: Billy Graves
In the days before indie-bands could ride the wave of internet hype to fame, Joanna Newsom was not a household name. Her first album, The Milk-Eyed Mender went almost entirely under the radar. Two years later, Newsom’s second album, Ys, has wooed music reviewers (see Metacritic’s list of accolades for the album), indie fans (who will undoubtedly shortlist the album in their year-end top-ten lists) and even the London Symphony Orchestra (who will play with her for five sold-out shows in February). Oh, how the world has changed since 2004.
Joanna Newsom performed last Friday with her rumored romantic partner, Smog’s Bill Callahan, for a double set at the 400 Bar. Maybe my expectations were unreasonably high, but from the very beginning, the set felt doomed to be underwhelming. By the end of the show, those feelings were unfortunately justified.
A very pale Bill Callahan began the set by playing acoustic guitar sans the rest of Smog. His voice should be recognizable to Ys fans as the devilish sounding bass backup on the album’s fourth track, “Only Skin.” Midway through the set, Callahan stopped to announce that his favorite Minneapolis Ethiopian restaurant had betrayed his stomach. When a member of the crowd demanded to know the name of the restaurant, Callahan shouted back, “I don’t want to besmirch their name.” However, after playing another song, Callahan said he would besmirch the restaurant’s name if he vomited on stage. Callahan made it through a couple more songs without vomiting and quickly left the stage. Callahan’s illness did not bode well for Newsom’s set.
Neither did the 400 Bar, a venue more suitably structured for a more modest sized crowd than the one Newsom drew. Even with an early and a late show planned, Newsom still drew a capacity crowd. Newsom’s justified popularity made for an uncomfortably “intimate” venue. A friend who got in line for the show a half-hour before the doors opened noted that the two people in front of him had to figure out how to split the last available ticket for the show (fortunately, my friend already had his tickets).
The claustrophobically packed crowd was willing to endure for Newsom, however. After Newsom opened with “Bridges and Balloons,” the crowd exploded with cheers and applause. However, I took the slightly pained look on her face to suggest that Callahan’s illness had bothered her.
Fans of The Milk Eyed Mender should note that, judging from the way Newsom performed “Bridges and Balloons,” it would seem that Newsom’s voice has permanently matured; she sang the track in the less chirpy, more on-pitch style of Ys.
After another Milk Eyed Mender track and a Scottish folk song, both transformed into Newsom’s post Ys sound, Newsom announced her touring band mates. In place of an orchestra, Newsom’s band consisted of banjo, accordion, tambura and bass drum, along with a dedicated female backup vocalist who also played glockenspiel briefly. Newsom announced, to the delight of the crowd, that she would be performing her entire new album from beginning to end.
Watching Newsom’s fingers masterfully find and pluck the right strings was a treat in and of itself. However, for Newsom, it seemed to take a significant amount of effort. For many bands, the process of working up a sweat usually is a symptom of their passion for the music. Newsom, however, seemed exhausted. I wondered if maybe Newsom ate at the Ethiopian restaurant as well or if she was distraught at the thought of Callahan’s illness.
Some may disagree with me on this, but the alternate instrumentation didn’t really enhance the music for me. “Monkey and Bear” was the exception, surprisingly. The group really made the track rock, thanks in large part to the bass drum player, who bobbed his head with intense focus as he matched drumbeats to Newsom’s harp playing.
After each track, the crowd would roar and Newsom would politely smile, then complain that she couldn’t hear her own vocals. After jamming out to the final track of the album, Newsom abruptly left the stage to end her first set of the night.
Throughout my concert going life, I have witnessed two encore-less sets. The first was Sonny Rollins, who was eighty-plus-years-old at the time I saw him. The second was last Friday night. A lack of enthusiasm on the part of the crowd certainly couldn’t be faulted. The 400 Bar might have needed to start getting ready for the second set. But even if that was the case, it felt as though Newsom was thankful not to have to go back on stage.
Set List:
Bridges and Balloons
The Book of Right-On
Scottish Traditional
Emily
Monkey and Bear
Sawdust & Diamonds
Only Skin
Cosmia
Publicity photo by Pete Newsom.
Location Info:
400 Bar
Artist Info: Bill Callahan, Joanna Newsom
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