Well at Least We’re Not a Cult

Last night I joined 19 other people (25 if you included the band) at Emo’s for what felt more like a private performance by widely acclaimed New York singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia, but what was in fact the tail end of her nationwide tour. The music was at times sparsely orchestrated with cling-clangy piano pieces and symbol scratches, but it always consisted of Nastasia’s delicate strumming. The set was so quiet that I took very few pictures because the digital camera I was using makes an annoying "snapshot" sound whenever you take a photo, and I didn’t want to disturb the band (on that note, the front door of Emo’s could probably use some WD-40). At any rate, the audience was attentive, in fact, they were more than attentive, they were uproarious, exploding with applause and uncharacteristic hoots and hollers at the end of every fading song. Perhaps it was over-compensation for the small turn out, or maybe just undying admiration, but the audience response was said to be the best of the entire tour.

She played a lot of stuff from "On Leaving," her new album from her new label, FatCat Records. The label is based out of London, and has kindly put up several songs from the new album you can listen to here. The album comes out today, and I encourage everyone to at least give it a listen if this sort of thing interests you.

She closed with a solo encore which featured a song I was not expecting to hear at all, an acoustic version of "The Matter (of Our Discussion)," an electronic track by the artist known as Boom Bip for which she provided vocals for last year. She closed with the requested "That’s All There Is."


When she hopped off stage to a chorus of applause, she walked passed my friends and I who were just smiling and clapping at her. As she walked by she reached out and touched my arm and said "Thank you." When I told my friend about it, he responded, "well, she’s a real woman." Exactly!

Stormy Weather (from "Dogs")
All Your Life (from "Dogs")
That’s All There Is (from "The Blackened Air")

Bonus Track:
The Matter (of Our Discussion) - Boom Bip (feat. Nina Nastasia)
(from Blue Eyed In The Red Room)

–Popkoff