{"id":25394,"date":"2018-08-24T11:15:24","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T15:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=25394"},"modified":"2018-08-24T17:27:50","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T21:27:50","slug":"live-review-devotchka-rough-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/live-review-devotchka-rough-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"LIVE REVIEW: DeVotchKa @ Rough Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four-piece ensemble DeVotchKa<\/a> returned to a packed house to<\/span> premiere a handful of new songs at their album release show at Rough Trade. I found myself surrounded by fans of all ages in the dimly lit venue, though not too dark to notice a few people around me clad in the band\u2019s tees. Chatter of the new record was alive as we anticipated DeVotchKa, who took the stage twenty minutes late.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are gathered here today to celebrate the release of our new album,\u201d preaches lead singer Nick Urata, met with cheers from his congregation. \u201cIt was a long and difficult birth, but we\u2019ve arrived.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

DeVotchKa are perhaps best known for their work in film scoring, most notably the Grammy-nominated soundtrack for 2006\u2019s <\/span>Little Miss Sunshine. <\/span><\/i>Seven years since their last studio release is a long and difficult birth indeed, but new record <\/span>The Night Falls Forever <\/span><\/i>does not disappoint, at least not live.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Tom Hagerman on violin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The band kept to a high energy setlist. Setting off a string of new tracks was \u201cStraight Shot,\u201d the lead single from the new record. Charmingly cozy while still anthemic, I had fallen in love with the lyric video<\/a> for this track prior to the show but it doesn\u2019t compare to hearing it live. Urata\u2019s vocals carry over an animated, optimistic beat that had a couple salsa dancing right next to me in the limited space there was, others even taking a step back to give them more room. It\u2019s a small sentiment that characterizes this room of DeVotchKa fans: cheerful, untroubled, and ready to welcome you with open arms.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s fun to hear a new record live prior to its release, given that I wasn\u2019t familiar with any new singles other than \u201cStraight Shot.\u201d A track called \u201cBreak Up Song\u201d slowed things down, but not at the loss of their momentum. Another stand out is \u201cEmpty Vessels\u201d an uplifting anthem that exhibits what DeVotchKa do best.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Nick Urata and Jeanie Schroder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During his opening set, solo singer-songwriter IRO stated, \u201cThere are so many instruments on this stage right now, I feel lonely.\u201d There was no doubt that DeVotchKa would make use of them all, but watching them in action was really something else. \u201cLet\u2019s bring out another horn!\u201d shouted Urata, before welcoming trumpeter Kenny Warren, who has also performed with the likes of Spoon and The Walkmen, on stage. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jazz saxophonist and flautist Jessica Lurie also joined the band for a handful of songs. Jeanie Schroder had blue lights drawing eyes to her sousaphone, but portrayed her skills on upright and electric bass, as well as the flute (\u201cHow many shows do you get to see two flautists?\u201d asks Urata, and I realize this is probably the only time I\u2019ll ever experience that.) Tom Hagerman exercised his talents on accordion, violin, and piano. Urata, too, swapped instruments during the set, from guitar to theremin, even bringing out a bouzouki<\/a> for the latter half. None of this outshone\u00a0Shawn King\u2019s resonant polka-like percussion. They chose to play with isolation of sound on both sides of the room, making the audience feel enveloped by sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

Older tracks like \u201c100 Other Lovers\u201d still had the same life years later. After that song, I overheard the guy behind me tell his friends, \u201cYou know what? Holy shit! I knew this song, a couple of songs, whatever, but holy shit, they\u2019re really fucking good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, the night was not complete without an encore: a solemn, yet rhapsodic rendition of their famed track \u201cHow It Ends.\u201d Most of the crowd didn\u2019t miss a single word, and seeing the immaculate joy on the bands’ faces show that they\u2019re happier than ever to be back doing what they love<\/span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four-piece ensemble DeVotchKa returned to a packed house to premiere a handful of new songs at their album release show at Rough Trade. I found myself surrounded by fans of all ages in the dimly lit venue, though not too dark to notice a few people around me clad in the band\u2019s tees. Chatter of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":25425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[573,565,202,204],"tags":[8068,988,648,766,1105,435],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/40020450_2100738783508297_1449624068822138880_n-e1535145732557.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25394"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25394"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25432,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25394\/revisions\/25432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}