My Favorite Decemberista

April 17, 2006

Live in Concert / RecCenter Studio
Petra Haden

April 1st, 2006

It’s probably starting to feel a lot like the early 90s again for Petra Haden, who’s getting her career back in high gear after it was delayed by a bad car accident a few years ago. Oh look, she’s garnering major props for her cover album of The Who Sell Out. Oh look, she’s one of the merry rogues of the Decemberists. Oh look, she’s on The West Wing playing with the Foo Fighters. All of a sudden, she’s EVERYWHERE.

On this April Fool’s evening, Haden teamed with local hero and BFF Mike Watt to present an array of sensational music. The pair may seem like an odd couple, but it was Watt’s idea to record the Who record as a tribute to D. Boon, and it was Watt that gave Haden the 8-track recorder and the impetus to cut it together. Tonight, Watt would open with bassist Kira Roessler as Dos, the dual bass outfit that is now in its 20th (!) year with their 3rd album on the horizon. Dos albums aren’t releases as much as they are anniversaries. Despite being two punk legends, Roessler and Watt’s outfit is mostly experimental, instrumental, jazz, pushing at the boundaries of what bass guitars can and should do. It’s all very loose and fun, even if they don’t settle into convincing grooves often. Dos works best when Roessler takes the mike and sings, grounding the music with sweet calming vocals.

After Dos finished, Watt stayed on stage and was joined by Haden to do a short set of covers. Haden stayed on the jazzy tip by knocking out a killer version of “Angel Eyes” (not the Jeff Healey song, but the Ella Fitzgerald standard) and then another piece from “Porgy and Bess.” Then it became Ike and Tina time, as Haden and Watt tried their best to do “Funkier than a Mosquito’s Tweeter,” which was tough with just a bass and a violin. Also, Petra Haden is about the least funky lady you can find, so a lot of the fun was her struggling along with her awkward WhiteGirl charm. It wasn’t as crazycool as her cover of Thriller, but it was fun nonetheless.

Petra and the Sellout Choir were the main event, and of the three times I’ve seen them, this was by far the best. Being up close I could hear the all the different voices in the choir swarm around me, but still differentiate all the voices and pick apart the harmonies and arrangements. Tonight, they sang an assortment of “The Who Sell Out,” but also played three songs from Haden’s first solo record Imaginaryland, including a beautifully complex Bach arrangement. To close out the show, the choir premiered their version of the Beach Boys “God Only Knows.” There were a few false starts before they hit the right cues, but when it got on track it was heavenly, as powerful and pretty as the original while carrying its own brand of ethereal magic.

Wow.

Petra Haden and the Sell-Out Choir will be performing again May 25th, 2006 at The Troubadour

Posted in From Blown Speakers