NC Museum of Art (NCMA) amphitheater is a beautiful place to experience music. You can ride your bike there, enjoy a picnic on the lawn, and choose to stand in the pit. The sunset added a colorful tone to start the evening. And the breeze lightly shook the maple trees surrounding the venue adding additional resonance to the aural experience.
Before settling down with my WKNC co-patriot, C. Biscuit, I spoke to a few old friends before Angel Olsen set the mood. ”Angel Olsen is amazing…Her last album is one of my favorites…you’ve got to look her up.” After ‘enlightening’ some people I sat down for Angel to serenade me.
Instead of the emotional force I’m used to hearing, Angel sounded like a wimpy high school girl performing in front of her chorus class for her Sophomore year choral exam. After two songs the audience completely lost interest, and within seconds the audience was louder than she was. I hate people who talk and talk and talk during performances, but I really couldn’t blame the audience this time. It was as if Angel thought her assignment was to play background music for an ex-hippy summer solstice gathering. After ending her small set I pondered the many factors in her life that could have caused this off performance.
And then Iron & Wine went on. Iron & Wine was hunky-dory. His melodies don’t tend to push the status quo and they rhythm mirrors the demographics of NCMA (old white people). That being said Samuel Beam’s voice affects the soul like Vix-Vapor-Rub, you just can’t help but be affected. I enjoyed his music at base of the stage and danced to what ever rhythm my body could take away from his melancholy music.
Overall, a 2.5 on the 3 scale.
-Coyote
