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Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton at the Varsity Theater (ticket stub)
Minneapolis (01/13/2007)
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This show took place only weeks before W♥M, so again, no notes or detailed account of this Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton show in 2007.
Just a little back story on Haines, I was already a Metric fan at this point, but I never knew Emily Haines had a solo career. She actually released a solo album in 1996, but it wasn't until Knives Don't Have Your Back that she stopped by Minneapolis in January 2007.
Opening up the show was Tall Firs, a NY folk/rock duo consisting of Dave Mies and Aaron Mullan. As noted below, we only caught the tail-end of their performance.
The whole account was written by Brody, via britishrockisalwaystop.blogspot.com:
The show was pretty low-energy, mostly piano-driven songs from her then-new album Knives Don't Have Your Back.
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Varsity Theater Marquee
photo: Brody
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Opening up the show was Tall Firs, a NY folk/rock duo consisting of Dave Mies and Aaron Mullan. As noted below, we only caught the tail-end of their performance.
The whole account was written by Brody, via britishrockisalwaystop.blogspot.com:
After enjoying 40 degree spring like temperatures the weather decided to get very nasty (basically what everyone expects in Minnesota). Heading to the Varsity there was no line, and surprising a show that wasn't even close to selling out. You would think being right next to the U [University of Minnesota] you would get all those college kids that are big fans of Emily's main projects over the years in Metric and Broken Social Scene. Guess not tonight.
There was still a lot of people at the show; probably 300. I was just surprised that someone of Emily's talent and stature wouldn't attract all that attention. Let's cut to the chase, well let's just say thank god we missed most of that Tall Firs set... Absolutely awful. We also stood behind a crowd of people because there were people enjoying their comfy chairs, tables, and couches around the theater.
On to Ms. Haines, we expected a quiet, dark psychedelic evening in Emily's melodies, and that's what exactly happened. Everyone was silent, the only word from the crowd was "spit it out sister", when Emily went off on her strong opinions. She expressed that she's best friends with the British, bloggers, and skinny people. Everyone got expressions, it's good to be honest, let things out, and Emily is a very independent gal that says what she wants, I respect that. I make fun of people all the time, in a little nicer way. I think it did bring back some memories of that Cat Power show, where Chan talked about her ups in downs in life with drugs, alcohol, and her fight against depression. Emily is far from that and is much more upbeat with a band behind her and a great mix of darkness and melodies. I still highly recommend seeing Soft Skeleton to see how far Emily can reach on another side of music and to watch her express all her thoughts into one album. Good show nonetheless, but I prefer Broken Social Scene and Metric just a little bit more. I need that energy in a live performance!!!
Despite what City Pages' Sarah Askari wrote, the show was not sold-out, or at least did not feel like it, as we freely walked around near the front of the stage. It is possible that the record label decided to buy up all remaining unsold tickets.
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"The Crew"
photo: Brody
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On to Ms. Haines, we expected a quiet, dark psychedelic evening in Emily's melodies, and that's what exactly happened. Everyone was silent, the only word from the crowd was "spit it out sister", when Emily went off on her strong opinions. She expressed that she's best friends with the British, bloggers, and skinny people. Everyone got expressions, it's good to be honest, let things out, and Emily is a very independent gal that says what she wants, I respect that. I make fun of people all the time, in a little nicer way. I think it did bring back some memories of that Cat Power show, where Chan talked about her ups in downs in life with drugs, alcohol, and her fight against depression. Emily is far from that and is much more upbeat with a band behind her and a great mix of darkness and melodies. I still highly recommend seeing Soft Skeleton to see how far Emily can reach on another side of music and to watch her express all her thoughts into one album. Good show nonetheless, but I prefer Broken Social Scene and Metric just a little bit more. I need that energy in a live performance!!!
The show was pretty low-energy, mostly piano-driven songs from her then-new album Knives Don't Have Your Back.
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Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (01/13/2007) photo by Brody, britishrockisalwaystop.blogspot.com
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