MARISSA NADLER with THUS OWLS at the Baby G (1608 Dundas West), Saturday, December 1. Rating: NNNN
Until 2016, it was rare to see Boston-based folk musician Marissa Nadler perform in Toronto, and her live shows still feel rare. So when the singer/songwriter returned here this weekend in support of her eighth album For My Crimes (Sacred Bones), she was met with a warm reception. It was entirely deserved – to the credit of her performance, not just her absence.
Montreal’s Thus Owls set the night out on the right path with their expansive avant-rock. Using percussion, guitar and keys, the band built a lush musical backdrop for Erika Angell’s velvety, powerful voice. Like Nadler’s, their gothic palette has a ghostly luminescence, an intangible weight that lingers long after each song.
Nadler took a more minimalistic approach, backed only by metal guitarist Milky Burgess (who handled backup vocals and impressively played bass synth parts with his foot) with her spare arrangements leaving plenty of room to embellish her rich, ornate voice and guitar. The song Dead City Emily, from her 2014 album July, demonstrated that approach the strongest, as Nadler dusted off her 12-string guitar and filled the room with her steady, meditative finger-picking.
Though she has a reputation for being a bit shy, she must’ve left her shell at home because onstage she was funny and affable. Perhaps out of gratitude, or perhaps because her songs floored everyone in the venue, the room was dead quiet, which she admitted many times felt a bit unsettling, even though she preferred the silence to the clamour and commotion some crowds bring. In response to the daunting calm, she offered humour, joking “this is the mellow part,” amidst a set of her traditionally delicate songs. “Later I’m going to shred.”
She made good on her promise with Hungry Is The Ghost, from 2016’s Strangers, swapping her acoustic for an electric guitar while Burgess introduced a drum machine into the mix. Nadler nixed the drum machine part after the tempo didn’t feel right, but the song was still a highlight. It showed her willingness to experiment in the first place and a quick recovery thanks to a couple of solos.
With deafening silences and a few missteps, the night had the hallmarks of an awkward meeting, but these are bound to happen as people navigate a relationship that’s still in its infancy. With sides opening up to the other, we can only hope her next visit will come sooner.
@nowtoronto | @therewasnosound
