Feist + Juana Molina - Prospect Park (Brooklyn, NY; July 9, 2008)

To say that Leslie Feist has carefully considered the construction of her songs might seem obvious in the face of The Reminder, an album that was critically received as one of the best of 2007. But casual observers will be forgiven for thinking Feist nothing more than the latest queen of indie—the kind of musician that features in iPod commercials and sings wistfully about “those teenage hopes/who have tears in their eyes.” It is often live performances that can convince you one way or another about the seriousness of an artist. I had no idea which to expect. We were, after all, at a concert in Prospect Park, Brooklyn and I half expected her to walk out on stage with a Starbucks coffee in tow.

The first clue that we were in for more than “just music” came when Feist began the concert from behind a translucent white screen, allowing her silhouette to flicker and the audience to be overwhelmed by her amazing voice. The second clue came with the beginning of Clea Minaker’s amazingly talented shadow puppet show that was projected behind Feist throughout the concert. Through a series of shadows and hand movements, Minaker complimented Feist’s music at every turn and you often found yourself torn between watching the beautiful Feist in her straw Fedora or Minaker’s shadows as they slid along the screen.

The concert reached its pinnacle during Feist’s performance of “Honey Honey.” Reminiscent of shows I’ve seen by Andrew Bird, Feist accompanied herself by building the loops for the song in front of the crowd. No matter how many times I see the use of loops at a concert, I’m not sure I will ever grow tired. There’s something beautiful about hearing the different parts of a song constructed right before your eyes and ears. The song’s tension was further heightened by Minaker smearing paint to create the image of a boat tossing and turning in a wild sea. Quite simply, the whole thing blew me away.

Another sure sign of an artist? She felt comfortable kicking around three acoustic songs in a row, telling the crowd she was going to “press her luck” but also mentioning that doing a show in Prospect Park was like practicing in her own room, just with really high rent. It’s hard to argue that she didn’t have license to do any damn thing she wanted to onstage. We had already sat through 30 minutes of heavy rain (thanks for not letting us take our umbrellas in jackasses) and nobody looked like they were ready to leave until we were sure Feist was ready to leave herself.

If you can catch her on the west coast before she goes up to Canada, she’s definitely worth it. She puts as much attention to detail in her live songs as she did on The Reminder.

Opener Juana Molina is also well worth a listen, so show up when the doors open and catch some of her music as well. Juana Molina is an Argentinean who calls her music “Crunk, Zouk and Grindcore.” She sounds similar to Bjork and reminded me a compressed, darker version of Feist herself. For an opener, she was a perfect match, although I have a feeling Juana Molina would be worth seeing on her own—just maybe at an indoors venue where it wasn’t raining.

review to your liking? You'll sweat:

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