Owen Pallett, of les Mouches, joined violinist Sara Nuefeld during the Arcade Fire concert at the 9:30 this Sunday. Sara, who I ended up standing in front of for the entire show, plays with passion and precision, besides having an absolutely perfect right armpit. Together, their violins sang with a sweet resonance that stole the show at times.
Owen's side project, "Final Fantasy," which he calls his "solo violin project," opened for the Arcade Fire. I hate to make this comparison, but you know how Jimmy Page worked the guitar? That's how Owen works the violin. He makes sounds that you never thought would come from a violin. The debut album, Has a Good Home, is out in February, available here.
Furniture is the fourth track from Has a Good Home. If David Byrne and Stephen Merritt mated and had a love-child, it would make music like this. I'm being serious, and it's a compliment. It's smart, witty, and melodic. So is the fifth track, The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead, which features a dizzying violin solo right at minute 2. See him live if you get the chance. The album is good, but you've got to see him play to appreciate fully appreciate his genius.
Final Fantasy - Furniture (mp3)
Final Fantasy - The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead (mp3)
6 comments:
If you were going to compare him to a guitarist who makes sounds come from a guitar you should have used Peter Frampton (is his guitar talking?)
Thanks for posting those FF tracks. I was at the show the other night...cool stuff. Followed your post from the woodlands.
In response to the other comment....no his violin isn't singing. He sings and loops together tracks that he lays down while performing.
RC666: I think Jimmy Page came to mind because of the way he played guitar with a violin bow. Owen does the reverse.
Anonymous: My pleasure as always.
I saw the Arcade Fire show in Chapel Hill, NC last Friday. Owen's opening performance was utterly amazing; somehow just saying "he samples his violin as he plays it, and then plays and sings back over the loops" doesn't do it justice. In addition to the fact that at some points the songs were five or six layers deep, all of which had been recorded live right in front of us, there was something especially neat about how he operated the sampler with his foot. I bought a copy of his homemade version of Has A Good Home and got him to sign it, but the album can't compare at all to his astounding live performance.
I saw both the show in Asheville (The Orange Peel) and the show in Carrboro (The Cat's Cradle). I thought both Final Fantasy and the Arcade Fire played a better show in Asheville. The show at the Cradle was great too but they all seemed a little tired and the chemistry just wasn't the same as the night before. I also just really love the Orange Peel as a venue. I have to say that the show there was the best concert I have EVER seen!
Anonymous at 12:33: Perfectly said.
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