Feist
Paramount Theatre - Dec 7, 2006
review by lexicon

Feist is nothing if not sprightly. From her live use of a sample loop recording pedal of her voice to her recent album of major overhauls of some of her most popular songs, Open Season: Remixes and Collabs, she always seems to have a surprise in store for her listeners. Her live act is no exception: I have seen her backed by a small band, remaining faithful to the recorded versions of her songs; I have seen her perform a headlining set almost exclusively acoustically and by herself, dramatically mellowing the sound and feel of her catchier songs, like Mushaboom and her cover of the Bee Gee's Inside and Out.

Tonight, I saw her backed by a substantial band, complete with a small horn section, resulting in a much harder rock show. It may seem odd to ascribe the term "hard(ish) rock" to a body of music that, in a pinch, could be described as "lounge," but there she was, stomping her bestockinged, long leg in a way that, for me, conjured Chrissie Hynde (the long brown hair with bangs and the fact that I was far up in the balcony surely helped).

I found the repeated format of solo start, moving to booming band sound, moving back to solo end somewhat of a crutch; I wish she had committed to playing some songs solo, and some songs with the added dimension, and volume, of the band, rather than attempting to blend the two options within each song. That said, her voice, as always, was a stunning display of versatility and sheer talent.

Her solo acoustic version of "Intuition," the last of her set, was indeed moving in its simplicity because of the richness of her voice. She also played several songs off of her newly recorded album to be released in the spring of 2007.

One new song made quite an impression due to its clever use of handclapping as percussive backup, but it's impossible to say whether that arrangement will resemble the final recorded version. The songwriting on the new tracks wasn't breathtaking, but I will hold off judgment until the actual album comes out.

In any case, Feist's greatest strength remains her voice, so no matter how she decides to back herself or how much she pushes her songs away from their most popular form, going to a Feist show is sure to be a vocal event worth seeing.

posted Mar 04, 2007
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