Low, Damien Jurado
Club Congress, Wednesday, March 1A live review in rhyme
On the new Congress stage,
Framed by gothic black lattice,
Damien Jurado played
with a drummer and cellist.
It was so quiet
You could hear cell phones ringing;
Still people were listening
To Jurado's singing.
He played songs from his new album
On My Way to Absence--
simple folk ballads
that are emotionally intense.
When Low took the stage
They started out quietly
And built up to the loudness
Of their more recent variety.
Though they seemed tired
And sung a little off key,
New bassist Matt Livingston,
Alan Sparhawk and wife Mimi
More than made up for
Last year's cancellation
By playing an encore
To the crowd's elation.
On songs from their last record
The Great Destroyer,
Like "Monkey," "California,"
and "The Silver Rider,"
Alan Sparhawk's guitar
Shook chest cavities
And impressed the bar.
They played "In The Drugs"
from 2003's Trust,
but not very much of their
more earlier stuff.
Which is OK, considering the fact
That people were talking
All through the act.
It's a good thing, then,
That Low can be loud;
They even drowned out
The din of the crowd.
The people who were listening
Seemed caught in a trance;
While Low is no longer as quiet,
Their minimal formula remains intact.
