As one of many who were enchanted by Joanna Newsom's excellent debut The Milk-Eyed Minder, and then further mesmerized by the even better Ys, I've been looking forward to seeing her live for some time. Would she be as enchanting in person? Would this kind of music work live and sound good?

I was rooting for Joanna to succeed, so I avoided seeing her a few times at venues where I thought the odds would not be in her favor (like the McCarren Pool show this summer). Webster Hall seemed like the best opportunity I'd have for some time, so I headed to the early show on Monday even though I'm not a huge fan of the sound in that venue. The show was fairly full, but didn't sell out (I believe the late show did). Because it was an early concert and because I was there early, I was able to stake out a prime spot right next to the stage before the venue filled up. The crowd didn't get into the opening act very much, which is unfortunate but happens. After they finished their short set and moved their equipment off stage, everything was pretty much ready to go for Joanna and her band. Their were six people set up in a semi-circle that went took up about half the stage. There was one guy playing an eastern European guitar, another playing an acoustic and occasionally a banjo, Joanna and her harp, a lady singing backup occasionally, a percussionist, and lastly an accordion player. Everyone sang harmonies at various moments, but I'll get to that shortly.

Joanna came out solo and played maybe 4 or 5 songs to begin the concert, mostly from her first record. As soon as she came out you could hear a pin drop in the audience. Everyone was there to listen, there was no conversation and perfect silence. She looked quite lovely, and had a soft, charming presence on stage. How she looked and spoke to the crowd really didn't matter much, however, because of how amazing she sounded. I've never seen anyone play a harp like that, and I can't even fathom how someone can play an instrument so complicated and then sing on top of it. She was impeccable, and a much stronger and more powerful singer live than I expected. I feel like her voice has softened since the first record, in a pleasant, less cutting kind of way. The songs sounded better live than I had hoped. After her brief solo set, her band came out and Joanna announced that they were going to play the new record from start to finish, which sent the crowd wild. I wasn't sure exactly how the band would try to recreate Van Dyke Parks' wonderful instrumentation for the record, especially after I noticed that there were no string players on stage. They decided to recreate a lot of the string melodies on the accordion, which worked surprisingly well. The band's backing was intentionally sparse and quiet, with only occasional and subtle punctuations to Joanna's singing and playing. This was the right decision, as it placed all the emphasis on the harp and the voice, which were beautiful and interesting for the entirety of the performance. The audience was stunned and rapturous: during the songs everyone in the venue was silent, and kind of look hypnotised in a pleasant kind of way. But when the songs ended, the place erupted. And when the band finished playing Ys and left the stage, the audience clapped and cheered loudly, for at least five minutes before Joanna returned to play a few more songs. This wasn't one of those typical half ass encores where the audience makes a little noise for a minute or two and the band comes back on before it dies down; it was the kind of encore where the audience doesn't move, goes nuts, and demands that the performer return. Awesome. And props to the folks doing the sound, everything sounded clear and wonderful, which was the last thing expected at that venue.

I left the show in a great mood, feeling kind of like I'd been told a beautiful fairytale as a child. If you haven't heard Ys yet, check it out, it's beautiful and amazing.

Labels: Concert Reviews