I'm a sensitive bore...

(pic via The Modern Age)

Joanna Joanna Joanna. First of all...she sounds a lot less bizarre in person. I thought so at least. Or maybe it just took seeing her live to get me over the hump, cause I've been listening to her disc all day and totally dig it more than ever. She sure gets a lot of sound out of that harp, too. These days you can really take for granted what you hear on a CD, with all the sampling and the laptops and stuff. But seeing her actually play that fucking harp live was like watching something impossible. She played the low range strings at one tempo and the high strings at another, all while singing some complicated lyrics at the same time. I can't comprehend how one person could pull it all off. Something special we've got here, folks. I just don't see how she does it. Was a pleasure to see.

I also really dug (Smog), who I've never really listened to before but I thought played some stunning sets as well. Almost the opposite of Joanna, his songs are slow and simple. Only a couple strings at a time and a very deep and deliberate voice, with only the accompaniment of a cash register at the bar over a deadly silent club. It was quite breathtaking.

Not so much tho with Weird War, who are not a particularly good or interesting band, but furthermore, were completely out of sync with the two other performers. Drag City has like a million artists on their label...they should’ve picked one that is a little more laid back. Take Weird War out of the mix and I would have likely called this show one of my favorites of the year. But this band was pompous and loud and just not what I wanted to hear. Didn't do it for me...or anybody else in attendance Saturday night, judging from the crowd downstairs at the bar during their sets.

Friday night I went to some bar in Williamsburg(!), and there was this girl, Tatyana Tenenbaum, playing guitar and singing songs. She has such an amazing voice and sang some really chilling shit. I think she mentioned, while me and my friend Julia were shoveling dollars at her as a donation for a copy of her demo CD, that she was only in NYC for a short time before she goes back to college, but, if you ever come across the name, make a point to check her out. I'm still naive enough to believe that true talent will always find a way to rise to the top in this town, and tho there are 4069456 other female singer songwriters out there, she was better than most. We should keep an eye on her.

Sunday I stayed home all day, ordered in brunch from Westville, watched football and played videogames. Would have considered going back out to Bowery again tonight for Drag City pt. II, but the thought of having to sit through three more sets of Weird War is just not worth the travel time and effort. Stayed in instead and watched The Day After Tomorrow on DVD, which seemed appropriate as I noticed from my window the first snow fall on the city this season. Happy winter everybody.