Final Fantasy
Bottom of the Hill - Jan 14, 2010
review by nikkiroddy

There is something really special about Owen Pallett's live show. Sure, you can listen to his albums or watch YouTube videos of the young, Canadian violinist (formerly known as Final Fantasy), but there’s nothing like standing in a room with him, your mind spinning, attempting to process everything that's happening.

Simple, almost childlike melodies fill the room, gradually looping, building on each other, and creating a powerful and complex development of sound. Soothing, operatic-like vocals blend softly into the music, and the result is beautiful. It's all created right in front of you, but it seems too complicated and big to be the result of one man with one violin. The whole thing is mind-boggling, really.

I was lucky to witness all of this live when Pallett came to Bottom of the Hill. I already knew it was going to be an intimate show based solely on the location. As one of the best smaller venues in San Francisco, Bottom of the Hill manages to book incredible shows that could easily fill larger auditoriums like The Independent or The Fillmore.

Dressed in black with slicked back hair, Pallett appeared sophisticated and self-possessed on stage. Clearly, some time has passed since he first established himself in the scene as a floppy-haired, boy genius. Im expecting a totally solo live act, but a few songs in, Pallett invites tour mate, Thomas Gill, on stage. Gill adds guitar and backup vocals to the mix. The two play off each other's energy and joke between songs. Overall, Pallett’s vocals are strong, although at certain points the instruments overpower and drown him out. It's a minor issue though.

For me, highlights of the night were: "The Butcher" (because I love that song and it sounded perfect live), "The Great Elsewhere" (because it was completely haunting), and towards the end of the encore, when Pallett was contemplating which song to play next, a guy yelled "Mariah Carey!" referring to the famous video of Pallett covering Carey's "Fantasy" (because it was hilarious and exactly what I was thinking and hoping for him to play). He didn't. Oh well.

Another standout moment was his cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "The Dream Tree". The song was beautiful, but I felt a twinge of collective shame when Pallett scolded the audience, telling us that we would be clapping louder if we knew who she was.

After the show, Pallett milled around the back outside patio, signing autographs and graciously shaking the hands of enthusiastic fans before humbly stating that he needed water. I watched him retreat to the backstage area, my mind still making sense of what I had just experienced. It's not often a show leaves me feeling that way, and that's pretty damn cool.

posted Jan 25, 2010
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