Backseat Sandbar

Last night at 21c, Osso (a quartet from Brooklyn, NY) played their new album “Run, Rabbit, Run” which is an arrangement by a handful of New York composers of Sufjan Stevens‘ 2001 instrumental album “Enjoy Your Rabbit” for a classical string quartet.  21c was packed with all the seats filled and a handful of people left standing in the back of the room.  DM Stith opened and was the highlight of the evening.  He is signed to Sufjan’s label, Asthmatic Kitty, and hints of Sufjan himself.  The Osso quartet accompanied his set to everyone’s enjoyment.  Sufjan’s film “The BQE” followed the Osso Quartet’s performance, but there was no intro from Sufjan.  I’m pretty bummed about it, but it is what it is.  Word on the street is that he was sick, but it put a downer on an evening that was overall pretty cool.  As far as The BQE goes, I can appreciate it for what he was trying, but it got old pretty quick.  I’m no film major, but parts of the film seemed to exist only to fill time.  I would have preferred he spent the last year and a half making a real album.

On a different note, if you are interested in how the adaptation of “Enjoy Your Rabbit” compares to the original, check out the two tracks below…

Osso- Enjoy Your Rabbit

Sufjan Stevens- Enjoy Your Rabbit

more pics below the break…

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 Half-Handed Cloud is coming to Lexington’s Loudon House on April 27th.  The show is in part promotion of a new split by HHC and Ariel Pink as part of Asthmatic Kitty’s Unusual Animals  series (released May 20th). Coming with HHC is Olympia-based LAKE

You should recognize the Unusal Animals series because it’s running at the 930 Art Center right now.  You should recognize Half-Handed Cloud because they are pure indie pop perfection.  All of the songs are incredibly short and sweet.  For example, “We Haven’t Just Been Told, We Have Been Loved” has 24 songs on it with an averge runtime of about 1:30 per song. Of course songs 2-8 are different “rests” of the same song, entitled “One Song in Seven Rests”. His voice isn’t quite like anything you’ve heard before either. Quirky, a little twee, a little electro, but entirely beautiful and uplifting. I very highly recommend seeing this show if you have the time, and if not, I highly recommend that you make it.

Half-Handed Cloud – Feed Your Sheep a Burning Lamp

For the full tour schedule, (more…)