BrightestYoungThings: LiveDC: Owen Pallett (ex-Final Fantasy) @ The Black Cat

all words: Phil Runco
all photos: Julian Vu

Approaching the climax of "Peach, Plum, Pear", Owen Pallett paused, impulsively it seemed, to inform the crowd that it would his last ever rendition of the Joanna Newsom song. The audience, many of whom had been singing softly along, let out a collective groan of disappointment.

Pallett was unpersuaded, set in the conviction of his minor epiphany. He began covering the song in 2005, he explained, in response to “misogynistic things being said” about Newsom. Pallet had wanted to do something nice.

But now, with Newsome’s face plastered across magazine covers: "It doesn't really make sense anymore."

Yet, it does.

Owen Pallett

What was once a showing of solidarity now raises parallels between Pallett and the folk chanteuse. There's the obvious: both are classically-trained musicians whose instruments of choice – he a violin, she a harp, both a piano – place them outside the traditionally-understood indie rock construct. Both slyly inject whimsy and self-aware humor into often austere arrangements, as if to wink at their listeners.

And both have released albums this year that manage to refine their aesthetics without sacrificing the panoramic scope of their ambitions. On the Heartland, Pallett has curbed vocal idiosyncrasies, reigned in histrionic flourishes, and made a remarkably disciplined artistic statement. While he may employ the Czech Symphony Orchestra and the St. Kitt's Winds, Let It Come Down bombast it is not.

Owen Pallett

Performing at the Black Cat on Thursday, however, Pallett was mostly a one man show. With little more than a violin, keyboard, and loop pedal, Pallett facsimiled the symphonic movements of his recorded work, one loop at a time. In a dizzying display showmanship, sprightly pizzicato was layered upon swirling strings, was layered upon the col legno striking of his bow, was layered upon keyboard, and so forth.

Utility man Jeremy Gara joined Pallett for several of Heartland's songs, fleshing out arrangements with guitar and percussion. The two gave "Keep The Dog Quiet" a slinky staccato groove, the closest the music came on the night to locking into a steady rhythm. "The Great Elsewhere" - Heartland's triumphant centerpiece - set course with an insistent proggy keyboard before dramatically swelling with intensity of Pallett's strings and a kinetic percussive roll from Gara. The song bled into playfully plucky strings and snare snap of "Lewis Takes Action", which felt all the more of a pop release on the heels of "The Great Elsewhere".

On-stage kiss between Owen Pallett and Thomas Gill

With the exception of "Lewis Takes His Shirt Off," Pallett eschewed the Heartland material more rooted in keyboard ("Oh Heartland, Up Yours", "What Do You Think Will Happen Now?") and synthesizer ("Red Sun No. 5") than stringed instruments. In their place, the set favored showier numbers from 2006's winsome He Poos Clouds, which often relied less on loop pedal and more on the continuous swoop of his violin.

Owen Pallett's New Backing Member (Thomas Gill)

Predictably, the more virtuosic songs drew the loudest response from the respectably-sized audience. Settling from the markedly busy chatter during opener Snowblink to near silence within moments of Pallet's first notes, the audience was smitten from the outset, and Pallett manipulated their attention with ease. The pacing was furious, with rarely a few seconds passing between songs during the concerts first half. With bangs flopping from his forehead and a pale, lanky frame peaking from under a black tank, Pallett looked boyish, with his half-smirk and eye roles complimenting the mischievous spirit of his music.

If seemed as if Pallett was in on a secret. If he continues to make and perform as astounding as Heartland's though, that secret won't be be kept for long.

Owen Pallett

As previously alluded to, the audience wasn't nearly as kind to opener Snowblink. The duo's airy and meandering music held no sway over the audience; a shame given how delicate it was. As with Pallett, loop pedals were utilized, but in this instance to pervert and stretch otherwsie conventional folk music. At its most tempestuous, the duo recalled Wye Oak; at its more pastoral, Gillian Welch. Unlike Pallett, the two lacked some confidence, peppering their banter with awkward laughter.

"Are you from California?" lead singer Daniela Gesundheit asked the crowd in response to the whooping that greeted the mentioning of her home state.

"Then why are you here? Just kidding... It's just a little chatty."

Owen Pallett