pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

Mini-Review

Well, I heard about Yael Naim a week ago thanks to the NPR World Cafe podcast… she’s a Paris-born, Israeli singer-songwriter.  She’s been described as “a touch of folk and a touch of jazz, with mysterious and evocative words sung with a delicate and intentionally husky voice.”  After just hearing of her, I found out that she was playing the Aladdin Theater in Portland the very next week.  I was just going to head up to the Aladdin if I was up for it, and buy a ticket if they had some available.  Well, thanks to the power of the internets, I got an email Tuesday morning from the Aladdin, and they were giving away 50 tickets to the first people who responded to their email.  And, woot, I got a free ticket.  Natch.

The opener, Peter Von Poehl, was… well… absent.  So the replacement opener was Grey Anne.  And she was… RAD!  Very quirky, indie rock girl with an electric guitar, drum, accordion, butterfly wings, echoplex, and a stuffed giraffe.  Fun songs, off the wall, nice textures, strong voice, confident, quirky… She’s from Portland; so I hope she makes her way down to Eugene sometime soon.

Yael Naim and her band were really good, too.  They played Britney Spears’ “Toxic” as well.  That’d make my friend Bruth happy. :)  I enjoyed her set a lot, but I think my favorites of hers were the ones in French.  There’s something about French music that’s just… FUN.  Yann Tiersen, Jeanne Cherhal, Paris Combo, and… well, Yael Naim.

Next Aladdin visit for me… Jonatha Brooke and Glen “I sat on a glass table and might not be playing guitar for a while” Phillips.  Yikes. :)  I hope Glen’s arm is better to be at this show, because otherwise, I don’t think I’ll go.  At the end of the day, I hope he gets better more than me being able to see him.

The Appropriate Linkage:

• http://myspace.com/yaelnaim
• http://www.yaelweb.com/
• http://www.myspace.com/perse (Grey Anne’s page)
• http://www.aladdin-theater.com/

~Dan – np: Radiohead – In Rainbows