Feist charm attack helped by band
REVIEW
During her time playing local dives not that long ago, singer/ songwriter- turned- indie It Girl Leslie Feist used to have to berate the sparse crowds for not acknowledging her blistering guitar solos. How times have changed: during the first of two sold-out hometown shows at the Danforth Music Hall on Monday night, the smitten audience often cheered even before she played the first notes of a song.
It’s been a while since Toronto could claim Feist as our own — the Calgary- bred singer has skyrocketed to success with the crossover appeal of her Let It Die album since moving from here to Paris a few years ago — but with 1,200-strong shoehorned into the grand old hall, the evening was a welcome back to remember.
It’s not like she needs anything more than her voice — a remarkable, elastic thing of dark beauty – and big red electric guitar to enthrall a crowd. But after nearly two years on the road touring behind Let It Die, Feist has clearly learned how to effectively administer a charm attack. Taking the darkened stage holding a sparkler, Feist, clad all in white, used a looping effect to layer her vocals — a technique repeated to stunning effect throughout the show — as she sang a capella in advance of her band joining her on stage.
This trio, which includes Apostle of Hustle bassist Julian Brown, recently replaced Feist’s Parisian touring band. The switch has breathed new life into her stage show, stripping away the studio polish of the Let It Die
tunes and taking them back to their roots.
Alternating between favourites from the album (lovely flourishes of horns and xylophone brought out new colours in “ Gatekeeper”) and promising new songs ( the bossa nova- esque “ Fighting Away the Tears” was particularly delightful) due to be recorded in the new year, Feist displayed why she was able to draw everyone from hipsters to soccer moms, coaxing them all into singing harmonies and clapping along to the beat. The one-two punch of the slinky “One Evening” (“This song is one that’s close to a lot of people’s hearts. It’s about onenight stands. Though maybe it’s not their hearts that it’s close to”) and rustic anthem “ Mushaboom” would have been a nearly perfect way to end the night. Instead she closed with a grooveladen version of the Nina Simone classic “ See- Line Woman”, showcasing her uncanny ability to transform a cover song into something inimitably her own.
“ Oh, city that I’m trying to pretend isn’t filled with homeness,” Feist had quipped off the top. No reason for the nerves; no matter where her current rise may take her, she’s already sung her way into our hearts.