Show Review: "When You Awake" 2nd Anniversary Show and a word on The Magnetic Fields

by Brad Roberts

 

Last week, on Friday, February 26, 2010, I ventured out for the first show in a week, to attend the second anniversary bash for "When You Awake" at the Bootleg Theatre. I saw a super set by Leslie and the Badgers, who melt my heart every time I see them. The headliner was Eric D. Johnson of Fruit Bats, who I was anxious to see, but who I had to miss to get out of there in time to get a ride home. Sorry to miss his set, but I've seen him before and I will see him again.

 

But it was a very festive audience, all done up in capes, like some kind of Halloween in February, hosted by Jody Orsborn, who had gathered a huge crowd of well-wishers. The theme of Halloween, Badgers, Owls and Bats was reflected in the fine poster by Patrick Gerrity (above). Admirers of her terrific "When You Awake" blog that has done so much, in a relatively short time, to promote and inspire local country/indie bands who surround us in Los Angeles, seemed happy to have the opportunity to thank her.

 

Thanks to Hagop Kalaidjian  and When You Awake for the photos

 

I walked in as Leslie and the Badgers were taking the stage and, from the very first song, they had the audience eating out of their hands. Leslie Stevens' voice is such a strong and pure instrument she could easily win over an audience 'a cappella', but she has surrounded herself with accomplished musicians who bring their own special talents to the music. Ben Reddell adds authentic sounding country guitar and harmony vocals into the mix, while Charlene Huang, classically trained, does remarkable down-home fiddle playing. The rest of the band each bring their own perfect contribution creating a truly amazing mix of country and indie. There's never any doubt that your in the presence of an extraordinarily creative team. "Los  Angeles", Leslie's Dolly-inspired vocals on "My Tears Are Wasted On You", and the crowd sing-a-long, I think it's called "If I Fall" were highlights, as well as a cover of Neil Young's "Helpless".

But the surprise of the night for me was Breathe Owl Breathe. Difficult to pigeon-hole, they blur the border between music and theatre, performing their unique, deceptively simple compositions, while entertaining the audience with theatrical tricks, like donning wolf and bear masks to recite zoological data on the species, all concurrently, creating a hallucinatory effect.

 

 

 

After their set, Jody told me she first came across them performing in a forest at the Pickathon Festival 2009  in Portland, Oregon (photo at left by David Elkins). I was instantly struck by how appropriate that would have been. Their music made me feel like I was strolling through a sun-dappled, green, leafy, verdant woods. The musty smell of dew-soaked fern and moss. This set was almost a sensuous experience, enveloping all the senses. Of sight, sound, smell, taste and especially feeling. I found myself amused and moved at the same time.

 

I had never heard of them before and knew none of their songs, so to find it so immediately familiar and reassuring was a surprise. Micah Middaugh is their songwriter and guitarist/lead vocalist, and with Andrea Moreno-Beals on cello and voice and Trevor Hobbs on percussion, they appear to have reached that level where each performer channels the other in a seamless collaboration that feels completely natural and unforced. Possessing a comfortable and easy stage manner, Breathe Owl Breathe seemed like friends among friends, chatting amiably with the crowd, and even displaying an unruffled attitude when Micah's guitar amp quit. As a moment that is usually awkward for both audience and performer, Micah and his bandmates guided us through the process with ease as Andrea slowly bowed her cello in a quiet reverie. I also loved the moment when Trevor wandered across the stage to stand by the piano and played maybe a dozen notes before returning to his percussion, as casually as could be.

 

Their music first strikes one as similar to Appalachian folk, but the lyrics reveal a deeper subtext than the simple, sometimes childlike, verses they sing. As with many other bands from the rural Northwest or Upper Midwest, they are steeped in an almost subliminal connection to the land, nature and rustic country life.

 

It would probably risk becoming cloying and too homey were it not for the overall sophistication of their writing and the fertility of their imaginations. Each song began as a childlike rhyme or expression that opened up to expose adult concerns wrapped in gorgeous orchestrations. It was some of the prettiest music I've heard in a long time, and I can't wait till they come back to town to play The Echo on April 21st. In the meantime I will pick up their CD's to become more familiar with their work.

 

Below is the crowd doing the wave, during one of the many audience-participation elements of their set..

 

 

On Tuesday, March 2, 2010, I had a ticket to see The Magnetic Fields at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and it could not have provided a more perfect comparison to the Breathe Owl Breathe set. First of all, The Magnetic Fields have been around for nearly 20 years...and it shows. Stephin Merritt announced early in the proceedings that he doesn't like performing live... and that showed too. Not that any of it was bad, it just revealed a workmanlike approach to the concert stage and was efficient, smooth and a little deadly. Quiet songs with understated everything doesn't make for a very compelling live show.

 

I've been listening to their latest album, Realism, and have enjoyed the simple melodies, Stephin's rich baritone voice and the subtly (and sometimes not subtly) acerbic wit of the lyrics. But listening to the music in the large, cavernous Wilshire Ebell, one had to lean forward and almost stop breathing to hear the band. One audience member in the orchestra section below me even yelled for them to play louder. Which they did not. Even my favorite song from the new album, "You Must Be Out Of Your Mind" was performed in such a fey and light manner it had little impact. There was a fine array of musicians on the stage playing everything from mandolins to autoharps to cellos, and playing beautifully, everything that would ordinarily seduce me...but I remained fairly unmoved until they broke for intermission and I moved to the exit.

 

Breathe Owl Breathe performed with an intensity and such an obvious love of performance that the non performance of The Magnetic Fields provided stark contrast. Both band mine similar stylistic territory, small fables and gentle stories that can explode with sudden deep meaning and intelligent wit. But where The Magnetic Fields appeared lethargic and perfunctory, Breathe Owl Breathe seemed almost anxious to share their art with us.