Sunday, September 16, 2012

Elysian Fields @ LPR 9/7/12

It was a new bassist and drummer for me and they fit right in.  I loved the drums and they would get my attention often.  That is, when I could release myself from Jennifer Charles' spell.  She's got a very captivating presence.  It works so well because Oren Bloedow is awesome and they always play with great people.  Everything was set up, so they came on 15 minutes after Adam.  They played for about 45, left the stage and came back for an encore.  They played a lot of new songs, about 4 or 5.  My favorite was the first one because it was the most up and danceable.  I sat in my seat and chair-danced.

It was a good friday and free for members.  So was the Peter Brotzman show the other night.  I'm also about $2 away from a free drink.  When that happens I will have gotten back $40 of my $50 already (I just renewed a couple of weeks ago).

Here's some pictures from that set and Mrs. Adam Schatz set:
http://blog.lepoissonrouge.com/?p=14096

I tried to get the names of the bass and drums, but I couldn't find it.

Elysian Fields
"I felt myself falling/under a spell/I knew very well I might never return/to the land of the living/and then I was giving myself to the light/then I took flight/I shot up like a kite/it was my last night on earth..."

Legendary cult heroes Elysian Fields have always travelled in mysterious waters. Led by the enigmatic New York co-composers Jennifer Charles (vocals) and Oren Bloedow (guitar), the music born of their collaboration is impossible to categorize. They carry a torch for nature, sex, love, the cycle of death and rebirth, and the sounds of folk and jazz ballads, no wave and classical music, seamlessly interwoven into a style that is at once languorously romantic and tough. Long known to European audiences where they have been lionized, the paradox is that in their home country, their art has gone largely unnoticed, but to the musical cognoscenti and in the know music Hop-heads.

But the fact is, more than anything, Elysian Fields is a New York band, as much a part of the cities tapestry as New York Marble Cemetery, or The Frick. Maybe you've heard of them, but likely you haven't experienced them. Oren Bloedow, a New York maverick, who grew up in the 70's at 53rd and 3rd Avenue no less, brings not only his masterly and unique command of the guitar to the stage, but his unparralled finesse of song craft. Co writer Jennifer Charles is possessed of unusual songsmithery and spirit; she seems to be channneling the songs from a mysterious source. She is both poet and siren, her rich voice of velvet, flush with emotion, entwining around one's heart. Behind these two have always been the finest of Downtown music's demi monde.

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