Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Arthur & Yu at Soundfix Records, 10/1/07

I recently discovered the debut album, In Camera, by the Seattle indie/folk group Arthur & Yu. I’m a sucker for harmonies, especially guy and girl duos, so this was right up my alley.

Last night, I was lucky enough to catch them playing a set at Soundfix Records in Williamsburg, on apparently their first national tour. After my last concert (at Madison Square Garden), it was refreshing to go watch a show in a small intimate venue. I was actually sitting next to the lead singer, Grant Olsen watching him write out the setlist at the bar. That doesn’t exactly happen at MSG.

The café at Soundfix was charming and friendly. It made me want to hang out in Williamsburg more often; if only it weren’t such a pain in the ass to get to.

The band drew a decent crowd into the café, and definitely grew more relaxed as the show went on. The live renditions of their songs were done well, a bit louder and more vibrant than the mellowness of the album.

The band members are definitely low-key personas. No Karen O’s in this group. At one point the female singer, Sonya Wescott, actually apologized for being “the shyest band you’ll probably ever see”. How can you not love these guys after a statement like that?

It’s rare that I find an album that I enjoy thoroughly, but this was one of them. It was nice to hear just about every song live, including my favorites Lion’s Mouth and There Are Too Many Birds, but definitely wished to hear them do The Ghost of Old Bull Lee. Alas, maybe next time.




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great show... I'm pretty sure I was sitting one bar stool to the right.

Anonymous said...

i wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers.