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Into
the Mystic
By
Ann Morrow
Cruxshadows,
Ego Likeness
Valentine’s,
Sept. 24
As the band stood silent, a foreboding voice from offstage
recited “Annabel Lee” with grim relish. It could mean only
one thing: The Cruxshadows were in the house.
Fresh off an extensive and successful European tour, the Cruxshadows
from Florida returned to Albany for another of their crowd-pleasing
evenings of atmospheric music and mysticism. Since their first
local appearance in 1997, around the time of their first (and
enduringly popular) alternative-club hit, “Marilyn, My Bitterness,”
the band have continued to mine their irresistible vein of
emotive darkwave. Saturday’s show, happily enough, was more
of the same.
All these years later, and the sincere enthusiasm of Cruxshadows’
vocalist Rogue, who is also the songwriter, programmer, and
spiritual leading light, remains undimmed. The statuesque
frontman and his towering hair and peculiarly appealing waver
led the charge for an interlude of nightclub theatricality
that was vaguely reminiscent of Weimar-era Berlin cabaret
(the band are especially popular in Germany). Two striking
dancers—Rogue introduced them as “very beautiful and very
talented” without exaggeration on either count—writhed nonstop
throughout the lengthy set. Festooned with LED lights and
wearing a headset, the interactive frontman left the stage
several times to sing up close and personal with the crowd,
all the while expressing the heartfelt lyrical conviction
that he’s known (and in some quarters, revered) for. At one
point, he broke into a jig—this is one icon of charisma who
is unself-conscious enough to risk being corny.
Cruxshadows songs, however, tend to be sublimely moody. Straddling
the twin pillars of synthpop and techno-industrial, they’re
populated by angels, Egyptian deities, lost lovers, and ultimately,
faith and love. Saturday’s set was drawn mostly from their
last three or so releases, in support of the band’s first
ever DVD, Shadowbox. The highlight was a breathtaking
solo by violinist Rachel McDonnell. A mournful Celtic air,
the solo shifted into a Middle Eastern vamp that led to the
shimmering “For everlast.” McDonnell’s soaring bowing was
also the key component of a beautifully propulsive “Dragonfly.”
“Helen,”
a testament to courage, was dedicated to local goth promoter
Penny Green, who died of cancer earlier this year. Later in
the set, Rogue related a warm description of his 10-year friendship
with Green that had her many friends in the audience—and onstage—holding
back tears. At its conclusion, he admitted, “No one wants
to see the band cry.” Pausing a beat, he added: “Then again,
we are a goth band,” a line that elicited knowing laughs
from the room. Sad but entertaining, it was a eulogy that
Green would’ve appreciated.
Ego Likeness, a synth trio from Washington, D.C., opened with
a solemn and lovely set centered on vocalist-keyboardist Donna
Lynch. Most memorable was the stark piano ballad “Wolves.”
Everything else sounded like Projekt music, but with a pulse.
Open
to Interpretation
Geoff Muldaur
Caffe
Lena, Saratoga Springs, Sept. 24
Geoff Muldaur’s repertoire is a testament to the value of
quality over quantity. His career reaches across 40 years,
first with the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, then as duos (including
three classic albums, a pair with his then-wife Maria and
another with Amos Garrett), and then member of larger ensembles
and primarily as a solo act. Last Saturday’s show in Saratoga
Springs found him revisiting material that has been a mainstay
for him since the ’60s. He writes few songs and chooses those
he covers with great care, arranging them with a meticulousness
nicely hidden behind the casual ease of his formidable skills.
His ability to inhabit songs by such blues masters as Sleepy
John Estes, Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Willie Johnson
is complete and utterly honest. He is free of the histrionics
and shallow calisthenics that make it nearly impossible to
sit through performances by most grandstanding blues operators.
To paraphrase Richard Thompson, there are three great white
blues singers, and Geoff Muldaur is two of them.
Joining Muldaur for all but a couple songs of his two sets
was the previously unannounced John Sebastian, switching between
guitar, banjo and harmonica. While Muldaur’s guitar and voice
are already capable of presenting each number in nicely nuanced
shadings, Sebastian’s presence added a couple of compelling
aspects. The first is the most obvious, the musical accompaniment
and occasional soloing. The other is rare, and was a joy to
behold: two old friends finding their way into a shared tradition
and songbook. Sebastian’s a quick study. His eyes riveted
to Muldaur’s fretboard, he’d try a note or rhythmic line and
you could witness a musical mind at work, as he’d quickly
reconsider and have the character of the song in shape within
a few bars.
The breadth of Muldaur’s influences—jug band, blues, folk,
R&B, Tin Pan Alley and more—make for a resonant whole,
with his love of one genre spilling over into another. One
doesn’t go to a Geoff Muldaur show to be surprised by song
choices, but to be captivated by one of the foremost song
interpreters of our time.
—David
Greenberger
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Fashion
Rocks!
photo:Chris Shields |
Saturday
night (Sept. 24) at the Lark Tavern saw the blending of two
worlds: the rockers and the fashionistas (we’re guessing it
made for one hell of an after-party). Local designers presented
their clothing lines while Bryan Thomas soul-rocked-out wearing
a Liability T-shirt (by local designer Tommy Watkins) in between
models strutting their stuff on the catwalk. For more pictures
of this event (and the before-and-after craziness), check
out www.thehiddencity.com.
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