Feist @ Town Hall: Bird Calls and Good Times for All

Look what the Canadian air blew in, it's Leslie Feist. The little lady with the unique voice that could turn any Oscar the Grouch into a smiling Kermit the Frog. Tonight, she played her largest NYC show to date and proved why she's a songwriting and performing force to behold. She's quirkier and more eccentric than ever, but always has surprises up her sleeve.

Let's start with what you need to know. Grizzly Bear (who I have no affection for) goes on at 8 and ends at 8:45. Madam Feist clocks in at 9:15 sharp and concludes at 10:45. Good? Good.

Her setlist:

• Honey Honey
• When I Was a Young Girl
• I'm Sorry
• My Moon, My Man
• The Park
• The Limit To Your Love
• I Feel It All
• In My Hands (Tony Scherr cover)
• Lover's Spit (with Kevin Drew)
• Gate Keeper
• Now At Last
• The Water
• 1234
• Mushaboom
• Encore: Sea Lion Woman
• Let It Die

Where has she been? Huddled in a Paris studios making her follow-up to Let It Die, one of my personal favorite albums of the past few years. She follows it up with The Reminder, very much Feist-like album, but instead of 70s singer-songwriter ethos, she goes a little more cabaret style. Let It Die was just the perfect album in my book, retro 70s without being kitchy and having a clear idea of its intention. This effort is in same vein -- more beautiful songwriting and magnificent odes to being in love. You can tell she had Bob Fosse Broadway music in mind when she composed "My Moon, My Man." With the inventive "1234," she channels the Broken Social Scene ideology with big, bombastic horns and choruses juxtaposed with quiet contemplation. "Old Teenage hopes are alive at your door/Left you with nothing but they want some more." Love that line.

So tonight's show had a similar feel to her Webster Hall show last year. The songs on the album are arranged differently, giving them a more immediate feel. You're not going to hear the albums recreated note by note. She's a playful character, even asking an audience member to come up on stage to do bird calls so she can sample them and repeat. I would have just freaked, then gotten my camera out and taken a picture. The caption would have been: me on stage at Town Hall with Feist. She also told a story about her first gig in New York, playing with an old band at Brownies and falling off the stage. "1234" had more audience participation to fill in those large choruses. Finally, she brought out her man, Kevin Drew, who I got a hug from once, to do a BSS song.

While Feist is not going to have you dancing in the aisles, she'll touch you more than anything. That voice is so distinct and light that you instantly pay attention to her crafty lyrics. The show is soothing more than anything. There are points of liveliness especially with the gospel like "Sea Lion Woman." I do wish she played a few of my favorite songs, "One Evening" would have been a nice singalong, but you have to do the new stuff.

So The Reminder goes into consideration for Top 10 albums of the year, and we all go home happy and humming along to her new tunes.

Comments

[you]

you are dumb. grizzly bear blow feist out of the water and I love feist.

music is snobbery is a sad little soul.

[ps.]

you wish you were as attractive as john cusack

-leslie

[MusicSnobbery]

Nice, personal attacks will get you no where. Even Grizzly Bear looked bored by their own music. They are the musical equivilant of throwing under-cooked spaghetti at a wall, you just hope some of it will stick, but you know it never will.

[leslie]

Luckily you are in the vast minority on this one. you are also incredibly off base. Why don't you go back to stalking Damon Albarn

[Jonathan]

"In My Hands" by Tony Scherr, from the album "Come Around" (Smells Like Records, 2002) www.myspace.com/tonyscherr

[MusicSnobbery]

Thank you Jonathan. I'm like Shear, Shears? I wanted to scream, "Who?" I went to Marion's website and couldn't find a name. Gracis.

[Jeff Taylor]

I got pulled up onstage to whistle with Leslie Feist the other night; it was a really fun time... She was trying to get the crowd into her whistling intro to 'The Park,' but no one was really responding in my area of the audience. So I let out this warble whistling pattern and it attracted the attention of her trumpet/keys player. He called me onstage to share the sound with the crowd, and before I could get back to my seat, Leslie called me to center stage. She asked me my name and then said 'Whistle into that mic, but don't use a melody; make it like a bird sanctuary.' So I tried to make it work, and she whistled on the mic along with me. By the time I got back to my seat, our two whistles were twisting around and looping for the audience to enjoy as the introduction for the next song. What an experience.