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The Black Heart Procession, Loquat @ Bottom of the Hill 01/09/08 |
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Thursday, January 10 2008 |
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THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION
LOQUAT
The Bottom of the Hill
Jan. 09, 2007
It was not an auspicious Wednesday evening. After a long day of gray and threatening skies, the clouds finally opened up as I was walking to the club. The show had sold out, and the place was packed with wet and sober people when I first arrived.
Loquat's Kylee Swenson
Loquat’s singer, Kylee Swenson, had been “blindsided by the flu” the day before. You could tell, too: She looked stiff. But she was obviously putting everything she had into her vocals, especially on “Harder Hit,” a song (perhaps slated for inclusion on their forthcoming second album, Secrets of the Sea?) that moves from a sultrily poppy verse to an emotionally intense, hauntingly catchy chorus. Swenson’s warm, enchanting voice really couldn’t have sounded better, for all that her stage presence was perhaps a bit subdued. The band got her through it, ripping off a number of their electro-tinged indie pop grooves with precision and energy.
For most of Loquat’s set, the crowd seemed not to have yet shaken off the mood they brought in with them. Just as Loquat got them to loosen up a bit, the tour manager for San Diego’s The Black Heart Procession decided to do a comedy routine. Totally Darrell, as he called himself, was unoriginal and offensive more than he was funny, despite his hilarious name. And that didn’t help anyone’s mood. He did have one funny joke, though I’m told Totally Darrell did not make it up himself. I’ll tell it to you if you ask.
an old photo of The Black Heart Procession; Pall Jenkins on the left
Totally Darrell finally got himself off the stage and Pall Jenkins, along with two other long term members of the Procession, Tobias Nathaniel and Matt Resovich, finally appeared. The three of them did two songs that consisted of the mournful wail of a bowed saw, a violin, and an organ. And of course Jenkin’s searingly plaintive voice. Absolutely, terrifyingly beautiful, as Black Heart Procession is at their best.
Then the rhythm section – a couple of new guys playing their first show with the band – joined Jenkins and crew, and the atmosphere lightened up. The rain kept falling and the crowd started moving. I kinda wanted The Black Heart Procession to keep playing the slow, dark songs, but it was nice to hear a lot of the songs off of 2006’s The Spell (Touch and Go ), as well as old favorites like “Tropics of Love” and “We Always Knew,” as played by the full band.
The Black Heart Procession has gotten less gloomy, less minimal, and more upbeat as time has gone on, but they’ve always retained that embittered edge of melancholia. Turned out it was the best of all possible nights to see them play live.
[Mike G.]
Dicuss this review on our Livejournal!
[STREAM] The Black Heart Procession: Various Tracks
[STREAM] Loquat: "Swingset Chain", Various Tracks
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