[...music...]: amiina @ le national

2007-03-29

i knew nothing about amiina, except that they opened for sigur rós during one of their tours. then, rox sent me some song samples, and asked if i would go to the show tonight, and i just said okay. when we entered the venue this evening, we knew that this would be a quiet comfortable intimate show, as rows of seats were set up, and the balcony was off-access.

the opener was tom brosseau, a somewhat strange, peculiar, soft-sopken funny guy; alone with his acoustic guitar. it was folk-ish and bare. it would not have been a memorable performance, except that he stopped in the middle of his set to chat. he expressed how nervous he felt, and how that made him talk. he said a few words in french ("ouvrez la porte. fermez la porte."). he asked if the audience had any questions. when no one asked, he mentioned the article in the hour, and explained the part about the red river in his blood. during one of his songs, he even busted out a harmonica. he ended his set with a murder ballad, during which he played one verse before putting away his guitar, and just sang the rest of the song, then quietly exited the stage.

next was amiina. four lovely ladies producing lovely music. it was mostly stringed instruments, with a laptop for sample and sound effects. the band members moved around on stage, switching among a variety of instruments. there were the standard: violin, cello, keyboard, guitar. there were some lesser-seen: a mini-harp. there were some non-instruments: saw, wine glass. then, there were some that i had no clue about.

the music was very nice: delicate, gentle, calm. what i loved most were the stringed instruments. my favourite part was when the four sat together and just played violins and cello, with nothing else. it was beautiful.

most of the set was dark, with a few soft spotlights on the band members. it made for an intimate show. during one of the songs, the sample sounded like the craking of fire; the stage lights flickered and glowed an orange-red hue.

they even played one song that is so new, it's not on the album. apparently, it was their first time playing it live. that's nice.

they ended their set with an all-saw encore:

saw action!

~~~

cd purchase: i got their self-released debut album "kurr" and an earlier ep "animamina", which two band members sold themselves, at their merch table. i got the album signed. they are so nice!

hearing damage: none at all, of course.

~~~

Labels: amiina, cd purchase, le national, shows, tom brosseau

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