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…

(more…)

This Monday, Nov 2nd, at 21c, Osso (a quartet from Brooklyn, NY) will be playing 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.  In addition, Sufjan Stevens will be coming to introduce his film “The BQE” which will follow the Osso Quartet’s performance (film presented in partnership with the Louisville Film Society)!!!!!!!

I’m not going to ask for anything this Christmas.  My wish has come true.

Tix $10 adv, $12 door available at 21c Front Desk & ear X-tacy, and available online at 21c Museum.

Tour Schedule
10-28 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern *^
10-29 Minneapolis, MN – Southern Theater @^
10-30 Madison, WI – The Project Lodge @^
11-01 Indianapolis, IN – Indianapolis Museum of Art @^
11-02 Louisville, KY – 21c Museum Hotel *@
11-03 Cincinnati, OH – Country Club @
11-04 Pittsburgh, PA – Warhol Museum *
11-05 Rochester, NY – Lovin‘ Cup
11-06 Medford,  MA – Tufts University *
11-07 Brooklyn, NY – Bell House *

* with The BQE
^ with DM Stith
@ with The BQE plus Sufjan introduction

As a few of you know, I have a few musical projects that take up a lot of my time, and one of them is the indie-folk band Bro. Stephen which just finished up a month-long tour and which will keep me out of Louisville for quite some time.  Now, you will have to excuse the shameful self-promotion because this really isn’t about me.  This is about all of the bands that I’ve met along the way, who you should check out and support in hopes that we can lure a few of these acts to play in Louisville in the near future.

Even folks who aren’t steeped in the culture of mellow indie-rock typically have an awareness of hushed troubadour Sufjan Stevens.  What some people don’t realize is that he started and helps run a label called Asthmatic Kitty Records.  On this record label is David Stith, aka DM Stith, who has released a number of EPs and a recent full length called Heavy Ghost.  I caught Stith in Bloomington (where he now resides) at a show at Greek’s Pizza.  I had heard some of his tunes beforehand, but wasn’t very familiar with his catalog so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from his perfomance.  He set up and was accompanied by 3 brass players as well as the talented Dave Segedy (The Native Young, Prayer Breakfast) on the drums, and Mike Dixon (Rapider Than Horsepower, Prayer Breakfast) on guitar/bass.

I knew that Stith’s material was strong, but I was amazed at his harp-like guitar mastery and the ethereal quality to his songs that lend each one a sense of being haunted.  Obviously, his record Heavy Ghost was quite aptly named.  His songs pull from his background (he comes from a very musical family) and a common theme is a consistently veiled take on faith and other weighted matters of the heart.  The songs have depth and the instrumentation is layered, but not overpowering.  I highly recommend checking him out.  According to Asthmatic Kitty’s website, Stith will be at The Dame in November with Osso (the musicians on Sufjan’s latest effort Run Rabbit Run) and The BQE which is a documentary done and scored by Stevens himself.  Should be a great show that will be packed.

DM Stith Tour Dates (via his MySpace):