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Tuesday, February 22, 2005  The long-awaited return to Boston of NYC's Ida was just the something special I expected, one of those rare nights in an unusual venue that's made comfortable by a great lineup and a crowd filled with friends and familiar local faces.People started gathering about an hour before the 8pm show inside the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, near the entrance to the Remis Auditorium. The sloped, stadium seating was nearly filled by the time Jodi Buonanno (of the Secret Stars) and a drummer took the stage, playing several songs around a free-form noise collage powered by what looked like a pedal running into a tricorder hanging around her neck. As interesting as it might've been, especially alongside the abstract video projected behind them, it felt a little early in the evening for spacing out, and I enjoyed the more structured parts of the set much more. It'd been a long time since I've seen Jodi play her own stuff on stage, and hopefully it won't be as long again.  Thalia Zedek was next, with the always-excellent Dave Curry on viola and a gent named (I believe) Daniel Coughlin on drums. I've been into Thalia's songwriting since her Come days, but hadn't been this moved by her live performance in a very long time. The trio worked so well together, and I was especially impressed by Coughlin's drumming. The whole set was completely transporting, and Amie remarked that it was the highlight of the night for her...  One of the best things about Ida is how relaxed they seem to be, how effortlessly their songs come across, how easily their three voices flow together. There's a real comforting, almost family atmosphere to their shows. Elizabeth, Dan, & Karla were joined by violinist Jean Cook and drummer Ruth Keating, who were note and beat perfect. Not a lot of older material in the thirteen songs they played (just Down On Your Back, Encantada, and a by-request Shrug), and only five or so from their new album (released today on Polyvinyl). The rest of the set was new stuff, which was a welcome surprise, and my favorite of them was probably Everything (I'm hoping it ends up on their upcoming 3" cdep as part of the Dark Beloved Cloud singles club).  I recorded the entire evening, and here's the Ida set. It was a relatively quiet one, and I did my best to remove a bunch of hiss without sacrificing the high end... IdaMany thanks to Dan Hirsch, who is responsible for booking these stellar shows at the MFA. Upcoming appearances include M.Ward, Magnolia Electric Co., Superwolf (Will Oldham & Matt Sweeney), and the Books. (and a shout out to Julien... thanks for saying hello. visit his site for more photos from the show, and bring your french dictionary.)  I'll probably have tracks from Thalia & Jodi's sets up after I return home next week, so check back for 'em. Meanwhile, I'll be posting from the Teenbeat Records Anniversary fest down in D.C., where I'll be tomorrow through Sunday. Ten degrees warmer is all I ask, twenty and I'll be in heaven. Get ready, CK & Kyle, 'cuz here I come. Labels: livemp3s  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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