Soundtrack for an Aquarium
May 30th, 2008 by admin
It's been a busy week of work and music for me and last night saw my second visit this week, of a potential 3, to my new favorite club in Innsbruck, . A friend recommended that I check out featuring Evangalista so after some Thai food, wine and open mic night at Project, we headed over to the club. I read a little about her on the interweb but didn't know what to expect beyond "radical art" and a hint of PJ Harvey.
A broken "paw" managed to cut the set very short so the band didn't even take the stage until after 11:30. Ambient noise and lots of effects laid the foundation for Carla's prose and lyrics. "When you see the word 'never' cross it out" lingers as one of the lyrics that stayed with me. She has a very strong voice and a real intensity about her. She seemed very sad about her broken hand and had to cut the show short since she couldn't play some of her tunes. That said, the music they did play was played with great care and energy.
Some tinkering with pedals and what I think was a screwdriver on her guitar laid a foundation for a trance or vision quest or nervous breakdown. I could also envision her music being an amazing soundtrack for an aquarium...I guess I would call her style "kunst-folk-rock" though I don't want to assume I've seen it all due to her compromised state. The show was intense and interesting and felt a bit more like an installation or an art piece than a rock show but we can all use a little art now and again. Should I have the chance to experience her and her band again, I would certainly go.
Because the nature of the show was so intense and dark and quiet it was quite challenging to photograph. As my number one rule of rock photography is, "Rocking ALWAYS trumps pictures of rocking," I was modest and only took a few shots. She, as an artist, seemed a bit fragile (in a good way) and the crowd was really enagaged and I didn't want to interfere with that at all. It was challenging, red lights anyone?, but a fun one at that. If you'd like to see the whole album, .