Monday, 16 Mar


Darkly theatrical and orchestral, replete with danceable beats, Atarah Valentine's music felt caged within the walls of the relatively sober Joe's Pub on Monday night.  Not to be deterred, though, the audience--many of whom had stood in line outside the venue well before the show's start time--was vocally enthusiastic if not bodily so.

The music, sounding at times like a Martin Gore/Matthew Bellamy blend, nonetheless arrived at a genuinely "Atarah" sound, particularly when perceived via his vivid stage presence and protagonist-from-a-Tim-Burton-film look.  Rounding out nicely both the musical and visual element, Atarah was joined by a cellist and two live mixers/controllerists, one of whom also played trumpet and a six-string bass.

The set included the urgent "End It All," with its rising vocal lines in the chorus, and the dance-anthem "The Night Is Young," which Atarah introduced as "one of our songs that you don't have to be on anti-depressants to enjoy."  The set ended with the orchestral "Without You," featuring live trumpet.  The band was applauded back onstage for an encore, and Atarah warned the audience, "as a punishment, you get this." The mellow song started off with unaccompanied vox and slowly built in intensity and volume before falling back again at the end.

Catch Atarah Valentine at The Annex on April 8th.

Fri, January 30


Joe’s Pub hosted a New Amsterdam Records extravaganza Friday night.  The first of the two sets began with the flute, viola, and harp trio Janus, a thoroughly modern group performing intricately abstract works.  Guitarist Andrew McKenna Lee joined the trio for their last song, “The Dark Out of the Nighttime,” written by him for Janus.  Lee then performed solo for the remainder of the set, with his now fluttering, now furious fingers, and his music a mixture of esotericism and Hendrixian rock.

The second set started off with Build, a double bass, violin, cello, drum kit, and piano/keyboard group.  Amidst striking purple, pink, and green lighting, Build’s songs sounded like soundtracks for: nighttime journeys; or the moment of star-crossed love-at-first-sight; or, in the case of “Magnet,” heart-pounding anticipation.  QQQ finished out the set, bringing music for a Tim Burton-esque barn jamboree and a casual stage presence that nonetheless commanded the audience’s attention.  The group was comprised of the violist from Janus, a violinist, a classical guitar player, and a drummer playing on a smaller kit made up of floor tom, kick, snare, crash, and hihat (and occasionally, melodica).  QQQ’s first song, “Runaway Puppy” was dark and lively, and their second song began with a drum solo—“drum solo!” calls out the violinist—after which the rest of the band joined him for a drunken sounding old time country ballad.  The set also included the live premiere of “Sister Sparrow,” a pretty, mournful song that featured whistling from the violist and violinist, and built in intensity as the drummer moved from the whispering of brush on snare, to the muffled boom of mallets on floor tom and crash cymbal.