Final Fantasy @ the Tranzac

Braved the bitter, bitter cold (and my own cold) last night to catch an act on my to-see list: Owen Pallett a.k.a. Final Fantasy. He was playing the first of two fundraising shows at the Tranzac. Considering the acclaim and indie cred, they could have charged a little bit more than the $8 in advance, but hey, I'm not complaining.

Local band The Silt opened. They started out, well, interestingly. I figured they had created a new genre - lo-fi spaghetti western electronica - but they eventually degenerated into plodding, mournful folk-country-roots dirges that frankly made me want to poke my eyes out. I thought, "Well, with some more practice and a good lead vocalist, these guys could be...competent. Their songwriting is fine enough." They played their instruments well (the drummer even playing bass at the same time), and sang in harmony competently, but otherwise couldn't get it together. At least not for me.

I can't find much about them on the internet, except a piece Carl Wilson wrote for the Globe and Mail in 2000 (?!):

The Silt is turning out to be one of Toronto's natural resources, alongside the likes of Hawksley Workman, with whom they share hummability, flamboyance, classicism, and a willingness to be fey and vulnerable that, at its best, makes audiences giddily nervous.

Six and a half years later, I can honestly say I was not giddily nervous. I'm not sure which band Mr. Wilson saw in 2000, but it wasn't the same one.

The night got better when the Centaurs took the stage. Again, I can't find much about them on the internet except for individual MySpace pages for the drummer, flautist, and keyboardist/vocalist. The drummer denotes himself as being "2-step / Ghettotech / Freestyle", the flautist is "Experimental / Jazz / Jungle", and the keyboardist/vocalist "R&B / Neo-soul / Jazz". Imagine all that mashed together, and that was the Centaurs: trippy Stereolab-ish instrumentals (the vocalist never sang any lyrics) that would have been nothing without the drummer.

The consensus was that the flute was overwhelming; there are only so many kinds of sounds you can get out of a flute, unlike a violin. I felt there needed to be more featured instruments to shake it up a little. A good lightshow would have also improved the experience. Maybe they could hook up with the woman who did the overhead projector visuals during Owen Pallett's set.

Despite two albums and all the building attention, I was surprised that he was still a boy with a violin; I would have guessed that by this time he would have a backing band member or two. It probably explains why he seems to play small, odd little venues. He would be lost by himself in, say, the Mod Club, or even the Phoenix, even though his songwriting is dramatic enough for a large venue. Although I'd be curious to see if he could hold an audience in clubs that size. He certainly had the room hushed last night (save for some guy's bored, drunk, obnoxious girlfriend who kept pawing him and contemptuously stage-whispering in his ear).

I don't know anything about stringed instruments, but I could tell that Pallett is an accomplished technical player, and has a lovely touch. There was a sweetness to his playing that doesn't come through in the recordings. The same could be said of his singing. On the albums he sounds a little self-conscious; live, he really does know how to sing as he knows how to hold back.

I didn't recognize a lot of the songs he played. A quick buzz through the internet reveals that he does plan to release a new album this year, so that's something to look forward to. I'm curious to see whether the songwriting and production progresses. Live and solo, Pallett's sound is limited; on a recording there is the possibility of additional tracks and overdubs. Let's just hope the new album has a less ridiculous title than He Poos Clouds.

Final Fantasy website (which someone really needs to complete/update one of these days)
"This Lamb Sells Condos" on YouTube (likely directed by his friend with the overhead projector)
"Fantasy" on YouTube (a Mariah Carey cover, of all things, but it works)

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Against all odds, I managed to get tickets to the Arcade Fire on May 15. Woohoo! They're crappy seats, but I knew I had to take whatever I could get.