Photo by Isaiah Yehros. More on Flickr
“If I say Beetle Juice three times, will I disappear?” you might find yourself musing. Because here at the Lemp, on the night of Xiu Xiu’s annual St. Louis performance, you would have found yourself witnessing a real live skeleton band, formally known as Br’er. The ungainly trio looked more like something from a Tim Burton movie than anything, tinkering with their antique harmonium, glockenspiels, and bass clarinet among other pieces of found, “musical trash,” and joking with the sold-out Lemp audience. And they sounded equally authentic, with mastermind Benjamin Schurr’s eerie, mournful vocals layered over the discordant, haunting harmonium and static from their keyboards. Other songs were more beautiful, orchestral even: “Endometriosis,” and “Whitewash” were highlights.
The unlikely trio was certainly a mesmerizing opener for the night, and either a very unfortunate, or very clever choice to precede the second act, the mighty Talk Normal. Talk Normal’s set was minimalist and noisy, a satisfying sound for two wholesome looking girls from Brooklyn. It was simply the snappy drumming of Andrea Ambro, and the occasional shock of feedback from guitarist Sarah Register, overlaid by fuzzy, lo-fi vocals.
Third, was tUnE-yArDs, or more accurately, the bass-assisted solo project of Merrill Garbus. It’s exciting to hear a voice like Garbus’ for the first time, as one might while listening to NPR on some otherwise ordinary morning. But it’s quite another to discover that every bit of her 30 minute live set, roughly half the songs off her newly released debut BiRd-BrAiNs (on 4AD, no less!), is her. Just watch her as she readies her amps and loop pedals, and you will suddenly realize that the soft angelic lullaby you have been hearing in the background is her, just warming up her vocal chords. Then she starts her set: and off go her banjos, her snares, bass drums and mic-stand crash symbols, and her healthy variety of vocal flavors – screams, yowls, moans, and falsetto. Something about the absolute mastery of her looping, her alarmingly powerful yet incredibly feminine voice, and the innocent strumming of her banjo really packs a punch. Add to that her insightful (an understatement) lyrics, and honest face with those giant piercing eyes, and you have yourself a gosh-darn close to objectively “good” show.
Finally, to top off a genuine musical adventure of a night, Xiu Xiu took the stage. An inexperienced fan might have been overwhelmed with the sheer volume of synthetic noise that Xiu Xiu coaxed from their modest setup. A closer listen, however, revealed all the intricacies detectible in their recorded work. These include the impossibly timed, impeccably placed injections of tinny sound effects, professional looking kazoos, electrifying jolts from the keyboards, and strikes of the various gongs and symbols. All this must have been obvious to the intimate crowd of devoted fans, crammed into the tiny gallery – every meticulously timed scream from singer Jamie Stewart created an echoing squawk from the appreciative crowd (“I Luv the Valley, OH!”). Stewart seemed as affected and passionate as his tour mate, keyboardist/ percussive savant Angela Seo, was stoic. Midway through their set, Stewart thanked curator Mark Sarich for the beautiful evening – a sentiment undoubtedly shared by everyone in attendance. After this great night of music, I can’t wait for Xiu Xiu’s return next year.
