Detached singing was on the menu at the Cooperage last Thursday.
However, most audience members refrained from detaching themselves
from their seats over the course of the show.
Hrishikesh Hirway of The One AM Radio set the tone as he
delivered lyrics in soft whispers barely audible to the normal
human ear. The hardly discernable words, along with an aversion to
small talk, contributed to a mystique surrounding Hirway.
While he lifelessly plucked away at his guitar, Jane Yakowitz,
the equally quiet half of this two-piece act stood to the side
waiting calmly for the occasional moments when she could chime in
with her violin. The dark ambience produced by a drum machine
contrasted nicely with the elegant sounds of Yakowitz’s
violin, creating a soundtrack for lonesome rainy days. The audience
listened in dead silence as Hirway sang the words, “I’m
so sick of this” in the dreamiest manner possible.
The volume was noticeably cranked up for Aberdeen’s
performance. The Los Angeles-based quartet opened its set with
marching band-style drumming eerily similar to U2 drummer Larry
Mullen’s fiery attack on “Sunday Bloody
Sunday.”
Aberdeen’s sound was hardly delicate, but frontwoman Beth
(Aberdeen is strictly on a first-name basis) continued the
detached-singer theme of the show. Dressed all in black, Beth
provided a mysterious presence to an otherwise straightforward
hard-rock band. She sang serenely with few emotional theatrics,
while guitarists John and Johnny punctuated each note with a little
hop or a head bob. Beth, standing center stage, was the eye of the
storm to the whirling band members surrounding her.
Unfortunately, Beth, who is also one-half of Trembling Blue
Stars, became too sick to perform with partner Robert Wratten for
the night’s final set. Even though Trembling Blue Stars is
essentially Robert Wratten’s project, it would have been
intriguing to see Beth in a band with a completely different
aesthetic from Aberdeen.
Trembling Blue Stars was more One AM Radio than Aberdeen.
However, Wratten was merely mellow while Hirway sounded melancholy.
Wratten performed several short acoustic numbers that were met with
enthusiasm by the audience. Like Hirway and Beth, Wratten performed
indifferently with few facial or body expressions. Toward the end,
a few audience members looked almost lulled to sleep by his
tranquil melodies.