Always quite the dramatic, Owen Pallett tried to convince the audience at the Bell House last night that we'd be witnessing some horrific display of half assed proto-music, being that he experienced a disaster the night prior when he dropped a newly purchased electro-acoustic Yamaha piano on his left index finger - a rather important digit for a violinist. Because of the injury, in an ironic twist of fate that would make O. Henry proud, Owen would resort to playing his repertoire of choice on that same piano.
I had seen Owen do an excellent job at keys when he fronted the Philharmonic during his performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, so I was pretty confident that it would turn out alright, just different.
As is the case with most great music, the newly arranged tunes held their own even stripped down and flub filled. Owen, as a deflated apologetic perfectionist, only lent to the scene a sense of mystery and intimacy; we were in for something awesome. The setlist was short yet thorough, with selections from his upcoming [masterpiece of an] album Heartland, as well as his classics... and.. ahem, those of others. But I think you have to see this to believe:
As is the case with most great music, the newly arranged tunes held their own even stripped down and flub filled. Owen, as a deflated apologetic perfectionist, only lent to the scene a sense of mystery and intimacy; we were in for something awesome. The setlist was short yet thorough, with selections from his upcoming [masterpiece of an] album Heartland, as well as his classics... and.. ahem, those of others. But I think you have to see this to believe:
The Kenny Loggin's favorite apparently was a cathartic move for Owen, and the last few songs in the set were played light and joyful with Owen sharing quips with casual and professional stagemate, Thomas Gill, who quickly became an audience favorite even at the end of the night, when the crowd ushered him onto the stage for the 2 of the Mountain Goats' closing songs.
Owen will be returning to NYC in just over a month on January 18th for a show at the Bowery Ballroom. I urge you to check it out. Below are two more videos from the performance.
NEXT: Part 2 - The Mountain Goats
NEXT: Part 2 - The Mountain Goats
1 comments:
Nice post. Thanks for sharing the videos. Being the cover nut that I am, the Danny's Song cover was maybe the highlight of Owen's set. I neglected to mention it in my own write-up, but it was really great to hear the songs interpreted differently on piano.
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