owen pallett at the toff; 16/01
I know I haven't done one of these posts for the majority of the gigs I've been to recently, but I just can't not for Owen Pallett. It deserves one. To repeat the sentiments of my last post, it was beautiful. You know what, I'm just going copy+paste it:
To be honest, it's been a while since a live show has affected me this much. It was perfect. Just watching the man lay down his tracks, building his songs from the ground up...it's a beautiful process. He claims it isn't all that complicated, but it's amazing to witness such creation. The looping, he playing (oh how fast his fingers move), the singing. I was almost moved to tears several times. The talent and the crazy innate sense of rhythm he must possess leaves you breathless. Gah...I know it all sounds like a load of hyperbole, but words cannot even begin to fathom how wonderful Owen Pallett is! It just makes me regret even more 1) Not going to the show he played the night before 2) Not going to his show a good couple of years ago. I really hope he tours Australia more often! ♥
So I was going to this one by myself (after having asked two of my brothers whether they wanted to come to...they did not) and while at first, it felt awkward, it was absolutely, without a doubt, worth it. I was running late (as always) and while I knew it was going to be a small gig and thus, didn't have to get there ages before doors open, I was a bit anxious. Driving to the city was no trouble at all (I'm becoming quite good at it actually), but there was a concern about whether I had enough petrol in the tank to get me there and back (long story short: the meter isn't working properly so the low-petrol light was all lies!). Panicked a wee bit when I made a poor attempt at a reverse parallel car park, but then spied a better spot and just went for that (cool story, bro).
I managed to make it to the Toff on time. Got my printout scanned and my wrist stamped, but was then told doors wouldn't open for another 15 minutes. So I ducked into the restaurant/bar side of the venue and got myself a non-alcoholic lemon, lime and bitters...ahh, the curse of not having a full driving license. When I discovered that doors had opened (when everybody standing in the doorway had disappeared) and went in, I was welcomed by people peppered around the venue, but they were all sitting down. I just stood near the stage, trying really not to eavesdrop on the obnoxious youngsters in front of me while live-Facebook-status-ing and live-Twittering it all. I must have looked really odd being on my phone constantly...but there really was no other way to stave off the boredom/loneliness (except to avoid the eye contact of one creepy man who liked to stare).
Jessica Says was the support and I really do not enjoy them. I saw them support Patrick Wolf and all I could think of was why this one band seemed to have first dibs on the support slots for crazily talented violinists. Everyone just sat down for it and to save myself the awkward embarrassment, I sat down also. It was most uncomfortable. The lead singer, Jessica, takes on this odd mannerism when she sings. Her eyes go dead...and I couldn't help thinking about that one Black Books line: 'I've been trying not to mention this because I'm a friend, but your son has the cold dead eyes of a killer.' And she was wearing denim shorts and we all know denim shorts = jean cut-offs = never nudes. I had to suppress my laughter for a good 40 minutes. But hey, the woman plays the cello, so, you know, respect.
However, near the end of their set, one of the security men came in and told everyone to stand up. I found hilarious, a bit odd, I know. It was then when I noticed someone walking through the 'backstage' doorway and into the crowd...AND IT WAS OWEN! ZOMG! It was that one time that I wished I had someone with me. I would have squeed a lot louder than I did. I'm not even sure people noticed. He just casually walked to the merch stand, stood for a minute and walked back to the backstage area. I would have went up to him, but 1) I'm chicken and 2) It would have been a bit rude.
Owen came on at 9pm and it was just a delight. The crowd was dead quiet during each song, which is real testament to the man's talent and just how much we all appreciated hearing him play. It was fascinating watching him build his songs, laying down one track at a time. And to hear it all come together, it's a gorgeous thing to see. And he's crazy good at playing, which goes without saying, but seeing such skill with your own eyes never ceases to amaze. The speed at which he can play, to get that range of notes in a beat, to coordinate all those loops while playing and singing...all breathtaking. During each song, he'll occasionally peer over to see the patterns on his laptop that represent his loops, or break out in a half-smile, half-grimace especially during those really fast parts. Sometime he'd hit his chest or his violin to get some creative percussion going on one of his loops. And afterwards, he would let out a sheepish 'thank you.'
And he's such an adorable dork. I wish there was some more inter-song banter. Not to say he didn't talk...he did, and he is incredibly charming and funny, but I have a thing for inter-song banter. Especially if it's cute. So more is always better. He talked about his whiskey drinking, getting into trouble for not playing any quiet songs last time (to which he said 'Boring'), doing covers and how it saddens him how bands do so for ads (HE PLAYED A MASHUP OF SUFJAN STEVENS AND SOME OTHER SONG I DO NOT RECOGNISE), him eating Thai food, never having known a violinist who plays in time, amongst other things. ♥ When he asked the crowd if anyone had any questions, some people blurted out song requests and he was like 'Uhh, that's not a question.' PWNAGE. I could type everything he said, but why read when you can listen to it (scroll down peeps!).
Setlist
Flare Gun
Don't Stop
Keep the Dog Quiet/Mt Alpentine
Midnight Directives
Your Light is Spent
This is the Dream of Win & Regine
A Man With No Ankles
Lewis Takes Action
Scandal at the Parkade
That's When the Audience Died
Covers Mashup (Sufjan Stevens' I Want to Be Well and ???)
The Great Elsewhere
Song Song Song
This Modern Love
Lewis Takes of His Shirt
***
The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
Odessa
Many Lives -> 49MP
And the only reason why he played This Modern Love was because someone requested it via email and he couldn't refuse a request. Awww, bless! But every song was perfect. I was surprised by how fast This is the Dream...was. Felt much faster than the recording. His cover of Odessa was awesome- so damn dancey! And when he achieved the right drum-machine set-up, he gave us a thumbs up. But the setlist was everything I expected and more. Finally seeing him made me nostalgic during the show. I just couldn't stop thinking about the first time I had discovered Final Fantasy- spying him performing with Arcade Fire on Conan O'Brien and being all 'who is this gorgeous violinist?' And then Maddy (I was also reminded by the good, ol' ff.org days) burnt and sent me a copy of Has A Good Home and a love affair was born.
When the show ended, I stuck around the merch stand for a few minutes. I didn't have enough cash on me, so I couldn't afford a t-shirt. Shame, because I would wear that shit with pride. I would have stuck around to see if I could blurt out a few embarrassing words to the man himself , but 1) I had to go to work the day after and 2) I think I'm permanently scarred from the Bloc Party Incident of 2005. Ah well, maybe next time.
I took a few videos but I haven't decided whether I should bother uploading them. But the awesome folk at Fan Made Recordings recorded it! Eeeekkk! Excuse me while I go relive the sweet, sweet music and his cute banter. IT IS AMAZING. YOU SHOULD ALL DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO IT. Just saying.
I loved every moment of it. It was definitely one of those moments where everybody was so mesmerised and transfixed that time seemed to slow down, but at the same time, when it all comes to an end, you just wished it would never. One of the best shows I've been in a long time. Top 5 material this gig was. I need to stalk his message board more often. The fact he actually posts on it makes me incredibly happy.
Conclusion: Owen Pallett is a genius. I could gush and gush all day long, but I'll save you all the pain of reading my deteriorating writing. I even briefly contemplated flying to another city to see him again. For serious. I just miss being there.