Sunday, October 17, 2004

Elixir @ Vanguard 

A ham-fisted attempt at a real review with Full Sentences rather than my usual "thought from" list.

What is worth waiting four hours at uni, two hours crouching in a restaurant wedged between someone’s high heels and someone else’s elbow, being constantly climbed over, your knees becoming numb from kneeling and your neck sore from craning*? And paying twenty dollars for the privilege?

Elixir, that’s what. For those who aren’t familiar with them, Elixir is a kind of spin-off from the indie-jazz-rock band george. There is Katie Noonan on vocals and keys and Nick Stewart on acoustic guitar. They are joined by Isaac Hurren on tenor sax. It’s george, but george transformed. Katie’s soaring soprano remains, complete with her trademark octave shifts, melodic embellishments, effortless scat, and killer notes. But gone is the angsty edge, the operatic drama. She rarely rises above mezzo piano. The supersonic notes are almost whispered, not tentative but fragile enough to make you hold your breath. Nick’s playing is toned down to match his mellow Mason. No shredding here, just folk-style fingerpicking or jazzy camping. Isaac contributes long passages of free improv on his husky tenor. He uses his slow vibrato sparingly at the end of phrases so notes pulse into nothing. The songs themselves retain their multiple modes, dissonant intervals and suspended chords, but there is less rhythmic gymnastics. Intimate lyrics of love, loss and simple pleasures replace george’s songs of protest. It’s poetry in motion – literally, since the lyrics are by poets Martin Challis and Tom Shapcott.

The opening act Lior whets our appetite with a few tracks from his debut album, Autumn Flow. It’s bound to be a hit. Have a listen to “This old love”, “Daniel”, and “Cello song”.

An hour later, to the relief of the restless crowd, Elixir finally come onstage. Katie’s “Raspberry tea” opens the set, followed by “Tip of memory”. She thanks the audience for listening in silence, but it is difficult to do anything else. We are carried away, captivated by her pure voice. The applause is enthusiastic but restrained, as if we dare not break the mood. They play a few new tracks, including the sweet morning-after tune “Eigth day” and the swinging “Sunday fugue”. At least I think that’s the title-- I must admit I drifted off a little due to the lateness of the hour and the ethereal, lulling music. It was sublime, nonetheless. The night ended with a cover of James Taylor’s “Oh brother”. I didn’t know the song, but it was a suitably upbeat Friday-night sort of song, as Katie said.

In short: a magical night. I’d ruin my knees for Katie Noonan any time.

*A word to the wise: Vanguard is a lovely venue, intimate and funkily decked out all in red. Just don’t buy standing tickets. Trust me, there is no standing space. At all. You’ll end up with a view of other people’s heads and/or trying to catch glimpses of the performers through the gap in someone’s elbow.

# posted at 3:24 am

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