LIVE REVIEW: Chris Cohen @ Aurora Providence

The act preceding him was equally innovative, though. Singer, songwriter, and electric cellist Orion Rigel Dommisse performed from the floor below the stage as the audience sat around her and her violinist, creating a campfire feel fitting for the horror-inspired stories her songs tell.

Dommisse sounds like she’s not from this planet, let alone this century. Poetic lyrics like “the flame’s light shimmering on the wall, secluded rivers and pale animals surround you” conjure medieval, fantastical settings, and the monotonous, quickening instrumentals sound like they’re emanating from a windup box — the kind found on a shelf alongside toys that come to life in a scary movie. She played mainly from her 2014 album Omicron, though her earlier Chickens and What I Want from You is Sweet represent her most haunting work. Before her set, Way Out vocalist Derek Knox’s crisp voice and acoustic guitar previewed the slow-paced, 70’s-inspired sound of Cohen’s performance. Dommisse and Knox are both based in Providence, which seems to be emerging as a hub of up-and-coming indie music. 

All the evening’s acts in some way transported the audience to different time periods and worlds. The three artists should be on the radar of anyone who is interested in where music’s headed or wants to hear something they haven’t heard before.

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