Feist – Massey Hall
I finally got to see play at Massey Hall last night, one of the last remaining artists I’ve loved for a long while, yet never got the chance to see live. As you can see, we were sitting in a spot that sort of hovered over stage left, I had a great view but it didn’t go over so well for the discrete photo taking. I suppose I was expecting something similar to the theatrics of what transpired during her Look At What the Light Did Now run- but it was naturally, more subdued. Metals is decidedly darker, more agressive- so her usual display of sequined get ups and shadow puppets couldn’t find their place. Personally, I loved it- it felt all the more intimate as she talked with the sold-out audience before her as if they were a few friends sitting cross legged. (Which happened, she invited dozens of audience members to sit the rest of the show on stage).
The thing I most appreciate about Feist is that there seems to be now boundary or separation, she seems to be attending a room full of music, just as her fans were. Although it wasn’t as visually arresting as I imagined it would be, that speaks more to her character as an artist than it does anything else, she doesn’t set out to please anyone and she doesn’t feel the need to top herself. There’s this sense that each record of hers represents a season of her life, and this is very much a Metals season – the brooding rhythm, restrained vocals and group chants- as if all to say, “it’s not all about me”. There’s also very little effort to maintain any sort of persona, she seems almost silly while conjuring up a ‘time machine’ before performing older songs, or inviting a large bearded man to flail before her for the better part of the set, or when she gets a little punk rock screaming, “we’re gonna bust shit up”. It might not be all about her, but she definitely owned her place in it.
Her inclusion of as backup vocalists echoes that sort of ethos. She made certain to allow the girls to sing an original song, “How’m I Doin?” and allowing them to dance around however they saw fit. It was that attitude of- whatever works for you. Mountain Man’s vocals filled that theater in a way that felt hymnal- there’s an element of magic they lend to the overall show that makes it feel otherworldly. Highlights of the evening: her more devious version of Mushaboom, and the impromptu dance off that occurred during My Moon My Man.
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