Unwicked

Music has been a steady companion lately. I should emphasize that it’s been good music. Moving to Williamsburg last month was a good excuse to get out more often. I’d fallen into a rut of work and not much else, but once I was living within a few minutes of Pete’s Candy Store and other venues here in Brooklyn, it seems like the urge to see live music received quite a boost.

Seeing Oakley Hall yesterday at Sound Fix reminded me of the recent evening I spent there enjoying the music of Sweet Soubrette, Les Bicyclettes Blanche, and Erin and Her Cello. I’ve had Sweet Soubrette’s debut CD Siren Song spinning daily and it’s a terrific debut. Ellia Bisker has crafted potent songs and a devastating persona in Sweet Soubrette. Not only does she sing songs of failed romance and life and love in peril, she gives us songs like “Ukulele Love Song,” a beautiful tune about a woman and her four-stringed friend.

Sweet Soubrette at Sound Fix Records

Sweet Soubrette with Erin and Her Cello at Sound Fix Records

Erin and Her Cello are another pairing of a lady and her stringed instrument. The night I saw her open for Sweet Soubrette at Sound Fix was my first exposure to Erin live, and I never really got over it. This afternoon she would be playing at a benefit at Lit Lounge for I Got Da Beat Productions, so I cut short my stroll through Prospect Park and beat a path to the beatnik benefit.

Erin and Her Cello at Sound Fix Records

It’s easy to remark simply that Erin’s songs are funny and leave it at that, but she’s about more than just yucks. Not only is she charming as hell, but she’s a talented musician who makes creative use of a loop pedal to create rich and layered performances. When she wields her bow and draws those plangent tones out of Her Cello, you will hear what I mean.

I add these two artists to the growing list of performers I have discovered over the last few months who I try to see whenever I can. Getting out and exposing myself to as much live music as I can manage has been a great way to clear my head and get the creative juices flowing. All this raw music coupled with the recent workshop I attended held by the NY Neo-Futurists has made for a wild and raw few weeks.

Andy Friedman and The Other Failures at the Brooklyn County Fair (Galapagos Art Space)

I left Lit Lounge to get back over to Williamsburg to catch Andy Friedman and The Other Failures at the Brooklyn County Fair at Galapagos Art Space. I had previously seen Andy solo at Pete’s, and while I can usually extrapolate how a full band will change the experience of seeing someone like Andy, I wasn’t prepared for how propulsive his set would be. I’ve been listening to his CD Taken Man yet I didn’t expect the band to be so much fun to watch. I wished I’d stayed for the next band, but I was hungry so I headed home to make a pot of pasta and steam some broccoli. (The pork they were serving would have fed me a few years ago, but I’m a veggie now and piggy doesn’t pass my lips.)

Maybe I’ll go out in a bit to Union Pool to see Wrong Reasons and Slim Cessna’s Auto Club. Or maybe I’ll stay in and work on a new song, or listen to music with my feet up. Decisions, decisions.