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| Concert Review + Set List: Minor Alps at the World Cafe 11/22/13 |
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 by: JoeS - Springfield, PA
started: 11/26/13 7:27 pm | updated: 11/26/13 7:27 pm |
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There was a lot of enthusiasm at the Minor Alps concert at the World Cafe, downstairs, this past Friday. The enthusiasm was for Mathew Caws of Nada Surf and Juliana Hatfield of Blake Babies not particularly for Minor Alps. The fans came to see them individually and with curiosity about what Minor Alps collectively produced. Everything said, it was a good concert and the performance top notch.
Sylvan Esso launched the night with their particular brand of looping and electronic music. The singer Amelia Meath moved with the music, played air instruments and danced a sort of ballet to the tunes. I was surprised by the quality and range of her voice, truly memorable. Her beat maker is Nick Sanborn. He played his console like it was a symphony cello or violin, both demonstrative and passionate. Prior to the show, I had not heard any of their music prior to the concert but I enjoyed it all. They played for about 45 minutes and performed ,I believe, 6 songs. The songs were all interesting and received a very positive response from the audience. The audience and I agreed that “You Know We Can,†"Play It Right,†and “Modern Wolf†were best received and received the loudest applause.
I have been a major fan of Nada Surf for years so I was interested to see what Mathew Caws and Juliana created collectively as Minor Alps. I like the power, the musical style, lyrics and vocals of Nada Surf. Many of their songs delve into the everyday and magnify it into something interesting and complex. An example being the song “Fruit Fly,†give it a listen. I was not well acquainted with Juliana Hatfield's work, but I have given her a good look see in the last couple of weeks. Her early work is raw and her later stuff more complex and textured.
This was an acoustic concert something very different for both artist. If you have ever heard either Nada Surf or Blake Babies, you would never describe any of their work as acoustic. I really did not think it would translate well, for the most part it did. Other than two guitars, Juliana used a stripped down synthesizer to add a little beat and some very limited background for songs like “Buried Plans, “ and “I Don't Know What to Do With My Hands.†On the CD Juliana's voice seems to be the more featured, while live Mathew's voice was by far the more dominate. I've always thought his voice was very unusual, sort of other worldly. On many levels, I prefer the live performance over the album. His voice and the fact we were also treated to some of her stuff as well as some of my favorite Nada Surf cuts made the concert more appealing to me.
Minor Alps performed 21 songs:
“I Wanna Take You Home†Nada Surf
“If I Wanted Troubleâ€
“Buried Plansâ€
“Candy Wrappers†Juliana Hatfield
“Wish You Were Upstairsâ€
“Live On Tomorrow†Juliana Hatfield
“Maxonâ€
“Such A Beautiful Girl†Juliana Hatfield
“Inside Of Love†Nada Surf
“Out There†Blake Babies
“Beautiful Beat†Nada Surf
“Lonely Lowâ€
“The Moon Is Calling†Nada Surf
“Waiting For Youâ€
“ Elemental Lifeâ€
“I don't Know What To Do With My Handsâ€
“Away Againâ€
“The Way You Wear Your Headâ€
“When Will I Be Loved?†The Everly Brothers
“Fruit Fly†Nada Surf
The album and the live performance have Mathew and Nada Surf written all over them. Though this is a partnership the topics, the titles, and arrangements are much more in the vain of Nada Surf than Blake Babies. “I Don't Know What To Do With My Hands†is the kind of topic, wondering and searching for meaning in the simple, that is a hallmark of Nada Surf. The songs that received the most audience reaction were: “Inside Of Love,†“Such A Beautiful Girl,†“The Moon Is Calling,†“I Don't Know What To Do With My Hands,†“Candy Wrappers,†Buried Plans,†and “When Will I Be Loved.†It is interesting how many artists are covering the Everly Brothers. Norah Jones is one the latest to jump on the Don and Phil bandwagon. Norah and Billie Joe Armstrong are about to release, Foreverly.
I had the opportunity to spend about 15 minutes with Mathew after the show while he was getting ready to do a meet and greet. It appeared to be a relatively full house, all the tables were full and about 70 or so people standing below the lodge level. Approximately 50 plus folks lined up to buy some stuff, talk with the artists and get their stuff signed. Juliana was running a little late so myself and two other fans shot the breeze with Mathew. We talked about his show last year in Philly and how hot it was in the venue even though it was arctic outside. He talked about how he enjoyed this abbreviated tour and how nice it was to have his family at the concert. He also said how much he like doing shows in Philly. After 10 minutes or so he said I'm going to get Juliana and to please not leave he wanted to continue the conversation with us and the rest of the folks at the meet and greet. He returned and we picked up the discussion about this being the next to last show, off to the last show in Boston then a break. I got my CD signed and thanked him and Juliana. They are two very pleasant folks who stayed around for at least another hour after the show.
The World Cafe is quality place to see a live performance. Both up and down stairs provide good acoustics, comfortable seating with great views along with very good food and service. Parking is a snap right on Walnut Street. I'm glad I went to the concert and got to see both acts. The combination of the new Minor Alps creations with stuff from Nada Surf and Juliana made for an enjoyable evening. The tickets were inexpensive and the total for the night with food and parking didn't break the bank.
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