pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

FYI… my PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM

Yay… I’ve been waiting for this show for a few months.  I last saw Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond) in April 2007 at the MusicNOW Fest in Cincinnati.  It was at that show where she debuted many songs that ended up on A Thousand Shark’s Teeth.  I was going to drive up to Portland on Thursday for the show, then they announced a Eugene show (yay!).  It was sparsely attended, though not as sparse as a Glen Phillips’ WOW Hall show earlier this year.  I don’t know… WOW Hall shows seem so hit or miss.  Maybe the Blues Traveler show at McDonald Theatre on Friday hurt MBD’s crowd?  Anyway, the artists were in good spirits and put on a great show nonetheless.

Openers, Clare and the Reasons, went on around 9pm and played 40 minutes of very cinematic-tinged, indie-pop fare.  The band was made up of singer/guitarist Clare Muldaur Manchon, multi-instrumentalist Olivier Manchon, and string-players Hiroko Taguchi & Maria Jeffers – – all four dressed in all red costumes.  (The MBD & Clare touring collaboration was also an efficient one, as Olivier, Hiroko & Maria were MBD’s backing band as well.)  After their set, buying their studio CD The Movie for $10 seemed like a steal. I look forward to hearing it, as it’s littered with guest artists / studio collaborators such as Van Dyke Parks (!!!!!) and Sufjan Stevens.

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Clare & the Reasons’ Setlist:

• Pluto – a fave of the set, nice pizzicatto strings
• Better Without You
• Pluton / Rodi – a fave of the set, nice saw work, 1st song done in the dark with flashing lights
• Nowhere
• Can Your Car Do That? (I Don’t Think So)
• Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears cover)
• Cook for You
  

Next up was My Brightest Diamond, who has gotten a lot of dedication here on this blog – – for which I do not apologize.  In fact, she’s been the most prolific (or at least most little web goodies) of the Asthmatic Kitty artists lately.  I mean, come on, Sufjan!  You’re overdue. :)  Anyway, back to MBD…

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MBD’s performance was excellent, as usual.  As mentioned above, Olivier Manchon, Hiroko Taguchi, and Maria Jeffers were her backing band as well – – this time dressed in black & white costumes. They played around an hour, which included a magic show, a shadow & puppet show, twirling & whistling hoses, and much storytelling.

MBD’s Setlist:

• Golden Star – a fave of mine
  
• If I Were Queen
  
• Apples – a fave of mine
• To Pluto’s Moon
• Olivier’s Magic Show
• Disappear – a fave of mine
• Dragonfly – a fave of mine
• From the Top of the World – started Shara’s At the Back of the North Wind storytime
• Black & Costaud – a fave, started with Olivier’s storytime
• The Ice & The Storm
  
• Inside a Boy – a fave of mine
• Je n’en connais pas la fin / Hymne à l’amour – with an excellent shadow and puppet show
• Encore: The Gentlest Gentleman – with Shara on mandolin
  

Check MBD‘s music out on iTunes, Amazon, or your local record shop…

My Brightest Diamond’s CDs:

(plus she’s got a ton of remixes and b-side whatnot on iTunes)

The Appropriate Linkage:

• http://www.myspace.com/mybrightestdiamond
• http://www.mybrightestdiamond.com/
• http://www.asthmatickitty.com/
• http://www.myspace.com/claremuldaur
• http://www.wowhall.org/
• Seattle’s Triple Door show (11/19/08) is Archived at Synclive.com
  
• MBD on Uncensored Interviews

The Next Tour Stops:

Nov 22 2008 – Swedish American Hall, San Francisco, CA
Nov 24 2008 – Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA
Nov 25 2008 – Casbah, San Diego, CA
Nov 26 2008 – Hotel Café, Los Angeles, CA
Nov 29 2008 – Solar Culture, Tucson, AZ
Nov 30 2008 – The Cooperage, Albuquerque, NM
Dec 3 2008 – Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
Dec 4 2008 – Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack, Little Rock, AR
Dec 5 2008 – The Bottletree, Birmingham, AL
Dec 6 2008 – Square Room, Knoxville, TN
Dec 7 2008 – The Earl, Altanta, GA
Dec 9 2008 – Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
Dec 10 2008 – Gravity Lounge, Charlottesville, VA
Dec 11 2008 – Rock n Roll Hotel, Washington, DC
Dec 12 2008 – First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
Dec 13 2008 – (Le) Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

OK, that’s all for now from me…

~Dan – np: Mostly Other People Do the Killing – This is Our Moosic

CLARE & the REASONS -and- MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND CONCERT PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution