Akiko Yano w/ Marc Ribot @ LPR 12/2/10

Decisions decisions.  There were so many options and I knew I wanted something early.  When in doubt, I sometimes ask stichomancy.  It's a divination method where you ask a question and then pick up a book at random and then randomly open it to a passage.  I do the free on-line version.  My answer was something about a sonorous voice, so I knew this was my show even though I wasn't crazy about her voice in the youtube vids I watched on the LPR site.  It turned out to be a good move on my part!

She mainly sang in English and her voice wasn't quite as high as on the videos.  It was still high, but I didn't mind it.  She is a phenomenal piano player.  She really had me at many moments with that!  I also love the music.  She is in love with the music of Southern USA and it was all music I love.

Marc Ribot was simply amazing.  He had me caught with pretty much everything.  He of course drew me to this show.  The other draw was a banjo I heard on youtube.  I listened to them at work, so I wasn't watching and I'm not sure who was playing banjo on that.  For the show it was Ribot!  I don't think I knew he had a banjo.

I also enjoyed the drums a lot.  I think it might have been my first time seeing Jay Bellerose.  He had me many times.  I loved some of the parts where he played the drums somewhat intensely with the mallets.  He's awesome.

Rounding out the quartet was a good bass player who sometimes sang backup.

It was a really awesome show.

The videos are still up on the site in the listing:
http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/1736
Akiko Yano
w/ Marc Ribot , Jennifer Condos and Jay Bellerose

Prolific Japanese-born, current NYC resident, pianist-singer-songwriter Akiko Yano has released 28 original albums. While procuding Yano’s alumb in 2007, T. Bone Burnett brought Marc Ribot and Jay Bellerose on board. (Recently Ribot and Bellerose contributed to Elton John and Leon Russell’s album “The Union” their concerts and T Bone’s “The Speaking Clock Revue”.) Adding Jennifer Condos(b), the band has toured Japan since 2008. Condos is a member of Ray LaMontagne amd the Pariah Dogs, who toured with Warren Zevon,　recorded and tour with Joe Henry… to name a few. Yano will be leaving for another Japan tour with this band soon after the show. This is their first live show together in NYC.