Brightest Young Things

Photos: Chris Svetlik
Words: Cale

I arrived a few min late due to two parking garages being closed and meters till 10pm, but only missed a bit of the opening statements by Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq.  BYT contributor Jeff had suggested going, and I decided to head over blank slate, not even reading Geologist's interview or watching any youtubes.  Tagaq spouted some cringe inducing lines about how all we need is love, but she seemed deeply sincere and authentic about it, so no worries.  She was accompanied by a nerdy drummer and an unfashionable old guy on guitars and effects.

I had seen Genghis Blues and was familiar with the Tuvan style of throat singing that sort of sounds like a chipmunk didgeridoo, but I soon learned the Inuits don't jive like that.  It's less of a sustained wavering tone and more like a dog who has been possessed by Ball, one of the seven princes of hell.  Tagaq effortlessly switched between these guttural outburts, melodic "normal" sounding singing tones, and other strange noises like whispers, laughing, mumbling, shouting, and crying.  This voice as an instrument was like a mix of Bjork and Mike Patton, which is actually a perfect description even though it's an easy one since she's collaborated with both of them.

This was during an approx 45 min piece, which at times felt rather improvised, but since I'm completely unfamiliar with her recorded work I could be wrong.  At times the drummer pounded out some catchy beats and the guitarist had some funky scratchy riffs, but mostly they added moody effects with their laptops and knobs, at times tweaking Tagaq's voice to sound even stranger.  Tagaq undulated in her tight black dress, stomping around shoeless on stage, wildly switching emotions every few minutes as the music changed from delicate to bombastic.  I wondered if her throat was going to hurt the next day.

It def made some people in the sparse crowd uncomfortable.  These noises did not sound like they should be coming from this woman.  I went to hold Amy's hand, but she pulled back claiming it was all sweaty cause she was "scared".  I'm guessing a few people seemed to pretend to like it because they felt like it was the intellectual and culturally mature thing to do, while others were genuinely into it.  Nobody got up and left, but I'm sure there were even others who could not wait for it to be over.  This is not music for everyone.  I brought both my parents to laughter imitating it over speaker phone the other day.

There were a few discernable lyrics here and there, the word womb was repeated a few times, but mostly it was about conveying certain emotions as opposed to a message.  Once the extended piece was over Tagaq thanked the audience for sticking it out through this "weird" music, and that even if we didn't like it, to know it came from their hearts.  They did a second short piece, which sounded pretty much like the rest, took a bow, and exited.

It was an enjoyably odd experience, and her passion and dedication showed through even when I was bored.  Would I buy her album?  No.  Would I go see her again?  Probably not.  Am I glad I went?  Totally.

Previously in Live DC:

• 2/13: LiveDC: George Clinton & The Parliament-Funkadelic @ 930 Club
• 2/13: LiveDC: Veronica Falls/ Brilliant Colors @ Black Cat
• 2/13: LIVE DC: Steve Aoki/ Datsik/ Alvin Risk @ Fillmore
• 2/13: LiveDC: The Darkness @ 930 Club
• 2/9: LiveDC: Theophilus London @ 930 Club
• 2/9: Best Weekend Bets
• 2/8: LiveDC: Kathleen Edwards @ 930 Club
• 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
• 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
• 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre