Twin Shadow And Glasser Deliver
By Michele Lenni in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 15, 2010 8:00PM
So we've made no secret of the fact that we are fans of Twin Shadow and Glasser's music here at Chicagoist. Both bands have been lauded by many music critics as two of the best new acts of 2010. But since both groups' albums were heavily reliant on multiple tracks, effects and other studio gadgetry, we were a bit skeptical if they would be able to translate their albums' magic live. Both groups truly lived up to the hype and put on a show that was just as sonically thrilling on-stage as they are recorded.
Twin Shadow was first to grace the stage at Lincoln Hall. Of course we were extremely curious as to how George Lewis Jr.'s melancholy, bedroom-pop ballads would translate on stage. We expected people to slowly sway to Lewis' somewhat doleful songs. What we got was at the exact opposite end of the spectrum. Lewis took these down tempo, clean and tidy ballads and infused a rough-around-the-edges rock ideology that took the songs from somber to stirring. Lewis' characteristically sweet and smooth vocal stylings were pushed directly into more of a rock aesthetic, especially on songs like "When Were Dancing" and "Castles in the Snow," where choruses were shouted instead of sung; each phrase punctuated by his axe-swinging, riff heavy guitar playing. Audience members definitely caught Lewis' enthusiasm and began to sway and get into it; one member even asking to come on to stage and join the group for a bout of what can loosely be described as "dancing." Between the band's rocked-out songs and the audience's enthusiasm, this set really got a welcome shot in the arm to what could have otherwise been kind of more of a reserved set.
Glasser was equally interesting on-stage as well. As the set began an intense shot of fog covered the entire audience with an intense wash of red light cast upon the stage. Cameron Mesirow's voice, clear as a bell, was like a beacon through the darkness with its haunting melodic quality, making her music truly unique. She bounced and thrashed about the stage to her atmospheric, hyper-rhythmic songs while her percussionist fiercely beat upon a single tom drum. The songs had a quality live that transcends what some writers here feel that her debut record, Ring, lacks: an ability to fully immerse the listener in Mesirow's blissed-out selections. Obvious comparisons were whispered from person-to-person across the floor of Lincoln Hall: Bjork, Karin Dreijer Andersson, etc. Through really delving into Meisrow and listening closer, we see more of a simple folk influence that is sorely missed by most critics. Joni Mitchell and Joan Biaz seem to flow through Mesirow's pipes as effortlessly as these artists' records have spun through our turntables.