I FINALLY get to see New Buffalo live. I’ve been obsessing over Sally Seltmann’s tender voice since her debut release. Her new album focuses more on piano and simpler melodies but has contributions with Jens Lekman, Beth Orton and Jim White. And boy was I elated when Jens quietly took the stage to play duet with her!! She only played a few songs to a small and timid crowd but what I heard was delightful, despite not playing “Recovery”.
Tonight was primed for Toronto’s Stars to play their lush songs about all matters of the heart, where lovers break-up, make-up, and have sex all night long. I still play Set Yourself on Fire and is one of my favorite albums of the past few years. The stage was beautiful, adorned with roses and paintings accompanied with a ligh setup that helped make the music more engaging. The crowd was awesome and the band played perfectly. You lose yourself when Torquil and Amy sing to each other as they gaze into each others eyes. The lyrical dynamism between the two is hard to find in many other bands. The band was extremely lively on stage and were very happy and proud to be playing in such a beautiful place in New York. Amy got a bit drunk off champagne during the show but still delivered an amazing performance. She even stopped the new song “Midnight Coward” because ‘it didn’t sound right’. Regardless, the never before played song was better the second time around and furthered my crush on her. They played until exhaustion and even when I thought Mr. Campbell couldn’t sing anymore they closed the night with an amazing performance of “The Night Starts Here”. They play again later in the month in Williamsburgh. Go and take the person you love or hate.
Pictures from the show.