When I was about 12 or 13, the video
Natural One
by Folk Implosion hit MTV, and my friends and I all lost our collective shit(s). I remember a buddy of mine immediately picked up the single (yes, there were singles then), and we spent ages listening again and again. This paved the way for us to learn about Dinosaur Jr., which in turn led to Sebadoh albums and the perilous and angsty journey into punk rock.
Thusly, with nigh overpowering nostalgia fueling me, I took in the recent Lou Barlow (of said bands) show on the Cowgirl patio. First off, I was feeling pretty impressed that Barlow was playing such a small venue, but it seems that Santa Fe is getting bigger shows like this more often. Plus, I'm willing to bet Barlow is one of those super-cool and down to earth musicians who subtly rules the land while keeping his head.
I arrived a tad early to check out Sarah Jaffe (myspace.com/sjaffe) open the show. In the days leading up to the concert, I'd heard nothing but good things about the Texas singer-songwriter, and Jaffe started strong with a beautiful voice and a quiet and subtly sad sound. Instantly, I realized there was something familiar about her, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
Jaffe's cellist and keyboardist added complexity to the simple guitar work, but I was going mad trying to figure out where I had heard this before. Then it hit me: I've sat in my room listening to Cat Power and Feist too ,and whether or not she realizes it, Jaffe emulates these musicians quite closely. Though Jaffe's voice is solid, it sounds almost exactly like Leslie Fesit, a fact that kind of pissed me off. Now, I'm not saying that she was bad or anything, but it was just nothing I haven't heard before. Jaffe's strength is in her voice and not guitar playing. At times, this seemed to put undue pressure on her band, and a cursory glance at the crowd proved that I was pretty much the only person bored by the performance. It makes sense, though. Those unfamiliar with indie folk/country are bound to be impressed by an artist with such obvious-and worthy-influences. I suppose Jaffe makes a good transition for those interested in getting into these types of music, but I don't see her having much lasting power in a genre already jam-packed with too many faceless acts that sound exactly the same.
Jaffe wound up her set, and you could feel the excitement in the crowd; a real live rock 'n' roll legend was about to play! Lou Barlow set up, and played a goofy song about getting punched in the nose for his soundcheck. Even the soundcheck was awesome. "Just go ahead and shout out what you wanna hear, and I'll probably play it," He announced. Song titles started flying around the patio, including one lady who yelled, "Play
Natural One!
Could you play that?" Barlow kind of laughed and replied, "Well, I
can,
just not right now."
After a few solo acoustic tunes from 2009's
Goodnight Unkown,
the crowd belonged to Barlow. His guitar work seems so natural, but is actually fairly complex and interesting. I was surprised at how much I liked his voice. Not because I thought he sucked or anything, but I don't think I had ever noted how good it was before. It was soft and restrained, yet powerful and beautiful. Every now and then he seemed to summon an almost Nick Drake-like quality.
The acoustic stuff was great and all, but the show really got moving when Barlow called his band, the missingmen, up to perform. "These guys are Mike Watt's band," He told us. This resulted in a "HOLY SHIT!" moment for me. Mike Watt is punk rock royalty, so I figured these dudes must be for real.
I've seen a handful of shows on the Cowgirl patio, but by far, this was the loudest. Barlow and crew rocked so hard and so loud, that it's hard to believe it wasn't shut down. Word on the street is that the patio is utilized so infrequently because of noise ordinance bullshit, but for those who were there, you know that this showwouldn't have worked inside.
Barlow switched back and forth from guitar and bass duty, and even the songs without bass sounded remarkably full. the missingmen proved to be real pros, never missing a note but appearing totally relaxed and effortless. Everyone was freaking out, myself included. I made a mental note to pick up
Goodnight Unknown
the very next chance I got. I am not even exaggerating when I say that Lou Barlow and the missingmen was one of the top five best shows I've ever seen in Santa Fe. The perfect weather on the patio helped with what I can only describe as a magical (gross) evening. Every song in Barlow's canon was good.
Every
song. Think about that for a second-how many times have you seen a show in which every single song was good? I'd bet almost never. It was just past midnight when Barlow switched back to his acoustic guitar for a few more solo tunes and I made my way home. It becomes more and more clear that Santa Fe is finally getting the shows we've deserved for years. The show renewed my faith and love of music, and i slipped into a deep sleep with my ears still ringing.
