Midwest Dilemma (Unsigned) Peasant Paper Garden The Living Room 8:00PM
Wednesday, May 20th 2009 FREE
Darla Farmer Paper Garden Emanuel & the Fear Paper Garden Mercury Lounge 7:30PM 21+
Saturday, May 23rd 2009 $10
Midwest Dilemma- Omaha
Emanuel & the Fear- Alright! (We’re All)
New York City’s Paper Garden Records is treating us during the month of May by putting together a couple shows that showcase three of the labels more promising acts. On Monday, May 20th Peasant, one of our favorite song writers attached to Paper Garden will play along side Omaha, Nebraska’s Midwest Dilemma. This will be a doubly sweet night— not only am I eager to see Midwest Dilemma live, but Peasant is definitely always satisfying to watch. He cannot be overstated. It is my understanding that Justin Lamoureux of Midwest Dilemma will be playing solo, which will likely be a nice compliment to Peasant‘s set. Did I mention it is FREE? The show will take place at The Living Room on Ludlow.
The vaudevillian circus sideshow that is Darla Farmer team up with electro-pop orchestrators Emanuel & the Fear for an early gig at Mercury Lounge on May 23rd. The doors open at 7:30PM, with Darla Farmer offering their velveteen texture at 8PM, followed by Emanuel & the Fear at 9PM. For those of you who have not attended an early show at Mercury Lounge, it is a great way to begin a Saturday night. Your ass is out of their by 10:30PM, perfect if you have a party to get to in Bushwick, Greenpoint or Williamsburg. Both bands are attached to Paper Garden and are certainly worth a listen.
Emanuel & the Fear
The Bowery Poetry Club
January 9th 2009
Another cold night in January had me waiting in Sláinte on Bowery in Manhattan. The idea was to drink a pint until 10 PM, when the doors next door at the Bowery Poetry Clubwould open. Unfortunately the ass-hole of a bar also served as a reminder why exactly I dislike drinking in Manhattan. Eagerly leaving Sláinte, I encountered an entrance line strung along what seemed to be the length of the Bowery block.
Inside, the music space swarmed with devotees waiting for Emanuel & the Fear to take stage. The Age of Rockets opened with awkward audience conversation and what made for an interesting display of Ben Gibbard influenced pop. The crowd became thicker and thicker; the room teemed with Pabst Blue Ribbon armed teenagers and care free couples. The room’s energy was nostalgic. It has been a long time since I’ve been so intimately surrounded by bright eyed excitement. Too often these days, any sign of appreciation by the audience is taken to be social ineptness on their part. While sharing not even the remotest amount of context, the experience reminded me of being in my hometown, watching some unknown band at the Culture Center, or any number of bands down at the trailer park. The atmosphere was electric, from the girl offering herbal downers to silhouetted smiles dancing through the powdery color of neon light.
Emanuel & the Fear populated the stage like an army of musicians. The 11 band members took their places and readied their violins, guitars, and horns for the opening song off the night’s featured EP, The Rain Becomes the Clouds. In contrast to the clean and polished EP track, their live rendition snared the audience with its palpable emotion. Emanuel’s voice, while tremendous on record, cut through the room with commanding appeal. A common thought throughout the show was that the band works best live. They are built for performance. Comfortable Prison and encore closer Jimme’s Song exemplified this best. Both begin soft and fragile with punctuated vocal pauses. They then become, to different degrees, voluminous and driven. The self-titled EP has many great elements, but Emanuel & the Fear require a space that allows the instruments to differentiate themselves. The studio seems to have compressed the tones and notes. The less densely stratified textures of their live performance elevate the band from their already excellent yet humble talent. Their mix of electro-pop and orchestral quality composition are a sight to see. As for Emanuel & the Fear’s intense take on Radiohead’s The National Anthem, you’ll just have to see that for yourself.
This Friday, January 9th, Emanuel & the Fear will be playing at the nicely named Bowery Poetry Club. The doors open at 10pm withEmanuel & the Fear playing at 11:30. This event will be an EP release party for the band via Paper Garden Records. They will be displayed in full force with 11 players on stage. The venue should sell out so buy your ticket at the link below; the cover is only $8.
While I am as curious as anyone to hear how Emanuel & the Fear sound live, I know that Paper Garden Records has a history of supporting very talented artists. The EP release party will be filmed, which always adds an extra bit of energy to all shows.
Our initial interest in this Brooklyn band comes not so oddly enough from the group’s front man, Emanuel Ayvas. When listening to his earlier works, it is immediately clear that he has a talented imagination and an ear for composition. Ayvas’ juxtaposition of acoustic piano and synthesized layers is always a beautiful thing. Now, playing as Emanuel & the Fear, Ayvas has cut a new demo that incorporates a legion of musicians into the fold. The result is an ultra polished soundscape that deviates slightly from the more barebones approach employed thus far. If Alright (We’re All) is any indication, Emanuel & the Fear now walks the finest line of pop revelry. On the one hand Emanuel’s voice is modulated with the bionic specter of Todd Fink, and on the other the emulsion produced could be easily sampled by the likes of Daft Punk. The song continues his initial project of the acoustic-synth love affair, with flutes and violins layered between ephemeral flourishes, but its production injects a sense of volume and body not present previously. The expansion is fitting considering the futuristic robot uprising the song chronicles. Emanuel sings “We’re All Alright” as an artificially subdued witness to the shocking events around him. It mimics the ideology discussed in THX 1138 (strange how Robert Duval is an ardent McCain supporter). Emanuel & the Fear compose from a creative space that I am extraordinarily fond of. I look forward to hearing what else they have cooked up.
