Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton w/ Tall Firs | Hiro Ballroom 1.9.07

It was cold. No, seriously – it was insanely cold as I waited outside the Hiro Ballroom for almost an hour. Why did I wait? Well, when you look online and see that “doors open at 7pm,” you kinda expect the doors to open at, well, 7pm. I’m the type of person who likes to get to a venue early for a show so I can optimize my viewing and listening position. To move on…the doors didn’t open till about 7:30. But, I’d sit in that cold 20 mph wind tunnel called W. 16th St. again if I had to. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, together with Tall Firs, were worth the loss of feeling in my fingers.

Sometime between 8 and 8:30, the lights dimmed in the Hiro Ballroom. Three rather ordinary looking guys (one of whom I saw shivering out in the cold, talking on his cell) climbed up onto the stage. Looking totally at ease, Tall Firs began their set. If you are familiar with them, what I am going to say will probably make little sense. For those of you who do not know of them, well, just sit back and follow along. These guys were clearly born for the wrong era. Their music, very slow and melancholy, reminded me of something out of the late 60′s/early 70′s. At several points, I heard a little of the moodier vibe of The Doors mixed with some experimental sounds (mainly thinking of Tall Firs’ song “The Woods”). I’d even say that I felt that I was listening to the improvisational stylings of Miles in the Bitches Brew electronic jazz phase of his life. Closing my eyes, I imagined the trio (Dave Mies, Aaron Mullan, & Ryan Sawyer) in some dimly lit, psychedelic scene. Hookah smoke filled the air and everyone in the joint was just letting the vibe of their sound wash over them. The setup at the Hiro had all of that…except the hookah smoke. And damn it! I like myself a little hookah smoke when I am going to be taken on an aural journey with the likes of Tall Firs. Their music is perfect for sitting in a hookah bar, on a huge cushion on the floor. If you can get one of your hottest lady friends to throw on a blue gingham dress (the shorter, the better…for you, you dirty perv), a blond wig, and some sexy Mary Janes, you can act like you’re the Caterpillar, on your fungal throne, and she’s poor Alice who has lost her way in Wonderland. Now, for any of you who actually manage to pull this off and have photographic evidence, you and the lady get drinks courtesy of yours truly. I’m a man of my word. Back to the point (I get on tangents sometimes), I really enjoyed the relaxed vibe of Tall Firs. Watching them perform…it looked as if all three of them went into a trance, only to return when the music was over. It reminded me of listening to “Eight Miles High” by The Byrds. And let me say that the drummer, Ryan, is AMAZING. The man used a bow (like for violin or cello) on a cymbal while ringing a bell held between his teeth. And at many points during the set, he was actually using his hands instead of drumsticks. He’s more than a drummer; he’s an all-out percussionist. The triad of fellows called Tall Firs? I give you an A; you have earned it. I’ll be getting the CD.

As Tall Firs ended their set, people were still making their way into Hiro. They were here for the same reason I was: the delicious scoop of musical dessert named Emily Haines. Only a handful of us, however, got to devour the cherry on top by being there for the local boys, Tall Firs. Emily Haines went on at about 9:20…and I was heartbroken when she left. She played through the entire album, Knives Don’t Have Your Back. It was a haunting, ethereal experience to be sitting 3 rows from the stage. She is a magnificent performer – her voice is crystalline, her band is tight, her sound lingers in your mind, waiting for you to go to sleep to be the soundtrack for your dreams. My favorite song is “Doctor Blind,” and to be there to hear her sing it, it was like hearing it through my headphones only clearer. She sounds exactly as breathy and mysterious in person as she does on CD. It was an immaculate performance. The set was bathed in a dim purple light. She recruited a local string quartet. She sat at her keyboard. You would think that you were just invited to sit in on the recording of the album. Every 3 songs or so, she’d take a break and talk us. She told us about having talked about her father, late “jazz poet” Paul Haines, on the radio. She even shared some of her father’s poetry with us. Yeah…she read it to us like we were her friends finishing a bottle of wine together. Emily (speaking like we hang out or something) even told us about how she never even noticed the fact that the album of her father’s that she mimicked Knives‘s cover art from (Escalator Over the Hill) had a song called “Detective Writer Daughter” on it until after she had already written her song, “Detective Daughter.” She shared that “indie rock…is like high school” socially – someone always hating the cheerleader. And she drinks Guinness; I never would have figured her for a beer type based on her sound. The album is perfect for sitting at a cafe on a cloudy day sipping the reddest wine they have. The most haunting performance was easily “Crowd Surf off a Cliff.” I got goosebumps. Once the set ended, she gave us two little bon-bons to take with us – a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “Expecting to Fly” and a cover of “The Woods” by Tall Firs. The Brooklyn trio returned to the stage, and together…beautiful, haunting, moody music was made. Emily, not that you will ever read this, but if you do, I went to the show because I was such a fan of Metric, but I would return again and again…for you. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton get an A+.

Notice that it wasn’t just an ordinary A+…it was gold. And that is exactly what the show was – the proverbial slice of fried gold. *gasps in exasperation* First, you missed the Family Guy reference…now you can’t even get the Shaun of the Dead one? Well, ****-a-doodle-doo! Why do I even bother?