On Sufjan Steven’s recent national tour, he was joined by opener and fellow Asthmatic Kitty artist DM Stith for what proved to be a pleasant combination of mellow and over the top. Stith worked perfectly as an opener with his simple acoustic set and wasn’t on stage long enough for things to get boring. It was a palette cleansing warm up for the chaos that came right after with Steven’s dazzling show. A similar arrangement greeted fans for Blonde Redhead’s show at the Roseland Theater, but the results were not quite as satisfying.
Icelandic singer/songwriter Ólöf Arnalds stepped on stage to open up the evening. Before she even started playing, though, the petite blond had to run back to the green room to grab a forgotten guitar strap. “So, ok, where were we?” she said as she got back to the stage. “I’m here to warm up the house for Blonde Redhead,” she added in her thick accent before launching into her set. Arnalds' performance style, to put it simply, is cute. She’s a very talented singer with a lovely voice that’s perfectly suited for acoustic guitar. She spent her whole set alone on stage with just a guitar that was switched out occasionally for a ukulele. In the beginning, everything worked out nicely, largely in part because the room stayed impressively quiet. As more and more people filed in during her set though, the light din of conversations got progressively louder, detracting from her delicate voice.
One of the funny things about Arnald’s set was that roughly half of her songs were covers. While her original material is great, the covers were often the best part. One of the first ones that she played was an amazing rendition of Caetano Veloso’s “Maria Bethânia.” The other two high points were her covers of “Please Don’t Let Me Love You” (originally performed by Hank Williams) and a surprising performance of “I’m On Fire” by Bruce Springsteen. “Please Don’t Let Me Love You” was particularly beautiful since it showcased her wide vocal range, but “I’m On Fire” really stole the show. Hearing Arnalds sing lyrics like “Hey little girl is your daddy home,” sounded a little weird, but she managed to give the song her own spin and a feel entirely different from the original. These covers really carried her through the set, because the performance got a little tedious at times. Arnald’s set probably could have been cut in half, as there’s really only so much time you can spend watching someone alone on stage with a guitar sing similar songs over and over.
When Blonde Redhead took the stage, there was a dazzle of lights and a flurry of sound. Opening with “Black Guitar,” a song off their most recent album Penny Sparkle, the band showcased their darker side, contrasting the brooding music with a warm glow of flickering lights from the back and candle-like bulbs all around the stage. The whole set up was a spectacular and surreal display, projecting warmth and emotion out into the crowd and setting the stage for what was truly a stunning performance.
There are two things that set Blonde Redhead apart and have made them more than a moody indie rock band. For one, they know how to put on a good show. Sure, their music sounds great, but on stage they never lack that element of theatricality and that gives their presence extra depth. The second thing they can lay claim to is the fact that they have their own sound. Blonde Redhead has a very distinct and unique style that’s hard to compare to anyone else. Over the years, they’ve had a lot of imitators, but no one has managed to carve out the type of unique sound that they have.
Their set was peppered with new work that sounded much better performed live than it does on the recording. Along the way, songs from 23, Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons and even a song or two from Misery is a Butterfly popped up, garnering cheers from the crowd. The set as a whole had a rougher, more rock ‘n’ roll feel than one might expect from a band known for their delicate vocals and intricate arrangements. After a somewhat anticlimactic ending with “Penny Sparkle” and a brief repose, the band came back for a rousing encore that included “23,” ending the night on a high note.
Blonde Redhead hasn’t released their strongest album with Penny Sparkle, but it doesn’t really matter in the context of their live show. In today’s music business, where album sales are at a record low, playing a good live show has never been more important. So while Penny Sparkle isn’t ground-breaking, it doesn’t tarnish the image of this band as a killer group of musicians making good music and putting on a stellar show, both visually and aurally. Stunning, surreal and totally enveloping, Blonde Redhead is a band to lose yourself in on a cold winter night and a show not to be missed.
