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Tour Dates
09/19/10 Barn Aid Sparks, MD
10/01/10 Basement Columbus, OH 10/02/10 Canopy Club Urbana, IL 10/04/10 Bottleneck* Lawrence, KS 10/05/10 The Blue Note* Columbia, MO 10/06/10 ACM@UCO* Oklahoma City, OK 10/08/10 Korova+ San Antonio, TX 10/11/10 Foundation+ Lubbock, TX 10/12/10 Launchpad+ Albuq, NM 10/13/10 Club Congress+ Tucson, AZ 10/15/10 Spaceland+ Los Angeles, CA 10/16/10 Casbah+ San Diego, CA 10/17/10 Downtown Brewing+ SLO, CA 10/18/10 Independent+ SF, CA 10/21/10 Mississippi Stds Portland, OR 10/22/10 Showbox Seattle, Washington 10/23/10 Flying M Coffee Nampa, ID 10/24/10 Slowtrain Records Salt Lake City, UT 10/25/10 Hi-Dive w/ Avi Buffalo Denver, CO 10/26/10 Slowdown Jr Omaha, NE 10/27/10 Old Rock House St Louis, MO 10/30/10 Lunt Cafe @ Haverford, Pennsylvan * w/ The Mountain Goats + w/ David Bazan Discography
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Why, Wye Oak, is that an ironic imbalance of instrumentation
in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Spirits were high at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis, Wednesday
evening, as Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner took the stage to a mixed bag audience
of aging dilettantes and their (biologically possible) offspring. The age disparity was obvious, as
headliner Lou Barlow, a veritable geezer by indie rock standards, drew noticeably
less heads than openers Wye Oak. A
shame considering Barlow's contributions to the early 90s low-fi movement,
but unsurprising as the mean age of Wye Oak's listeners was probably 20
(I actually overheard a girl comment that "Wye Oak should be headlining,
they've been around longer").
Wye Oak's charms did not cap at their adherence to trendy number '2' (the duet). Wasner exhibited genuine wonder at crowd enthusiasm, thanking her fans each time she belted a new song, as though she anticipated a rowdy backlash (none occurred). It was very sweet. The "new" songs sounded epic from the 400 Bar's tiny stage; Wasner and Stack's distinctive style--she belts it with her pretty voice, he roughs it up with his sinful rock--proved a boy-girl duo needn't be cute to score.
The band's strength is their ability to make simple music sound complex. Armed with minimal instrumentation, the pair leans heavily on the power of anticipation, confident in the belief that listeners will bear the repetition for a satisfying happy ending (this is obvious on songs like "For Prayer" from last year's The Knot). Wasner is a strong vocalist, but what separates her from the flood of Cat Power protégés is Stack; or more specifically, Stack's ear for music. Her partner in crime exhibits a keen understanding of composition-- he's edgy and physical without alienating thin-skinned audiophiles. Highlights include the haunting "That I Do" and "I Hope You Die" (from their recently released EP My Neighbor / My Creator, which fared better on stage than in studio.
Wednesday's show proved, if nothing else, that Wye Oakis climbing the ranks. The first time I saw them in Minneapolis, they performed to a nearly empty room (and this was at the 7th Street Entry, which is roughly the size of a walk-in closet). Amidst a season of dance-centric hits, Wye Oak's wintry sound makes us feel a little flushed between the ears, but above all else, full of violent love.
Wye Oak is currently on the southern/West Coast/Northwest leg of their tour. For tour dates visit the official Website or Myspace. My Neighbor / My Creator is available as a digital download.
Wye Oak's charms did not cap at their adherence to trendy number '2' (the duet). Wasner exhibited genuine wonder at crowd enthusiasm, thanking her fans each time she belted a new song, as though she anticipated a rowdy backlash (none occurred). It was very sweet. The "new" songs sounded epic from the 400 Bar's tiny stage; Wasner and Stack's distinctive style--she belts it with her pretty voice, he roughs it up with his sinful rock--proved a boy-girl duo needn't be cute to score.
The band's strength is their ability to make simple music sound complex. Armed with minimal instrumentation, the pair leans heavily on the power of anticipation, confident in the belief that listeners will bear the repetition for a satisfying happy ending (this is obvious on songs like "For Prayer" from last year's The Knot). Wasner is a strong vocalist, but what separates her from the flood of Cat Power protégés is Stack; or more specifically, Stack's ear for music. Her partner in crime exhibits a keen understanding of composition-- he's edgy and physical without alienating thin-skinned audiophiles. Highlights include the haunting "That I Do" and "I Hope You Die" (from their recently released EP My Neighbor / My Creator, which fared better on stage than in studio.
Wednesday's show proved, if nothing else, that Wye Oakis climbing the ranks. The first time I saw them in Minneapolis, they performed to a nearly empty room (and this was at the 7th Street Entry, which is roughly the size of a walk-in closet). Amidst a season of dance-centric hits, Wye Oak's wintry sound makes us feel a little flushed between the ears, but above all else, full of violent love.
Wye Oak is currently on the southern/West Coast/Northwest leg of their tour. For tour dates visit the official Website or Myspace. My Neighbor / My Creator is available as a digital download.
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