Show Review: Balmorhea @ The Parish (1/13)

On a chilly and regrettably less than spooky ‘Friday the13th’ evening, the Parish and Western Vinyl hosted a sold out event of emerging and established local talent.The audience was full with family and friends, young and old, who were treated to a sonic experience of the highest order and the way in which Balmorhea, in particular, presented their craft might have caught a few of them off guard.  Follow the jump for the full review.

Beat maker Spencer Stephenson’s alter-ego Botany opened the festivities with organic, ambient soundscapes hunched over a vast array of pedals and ethereal effects. Much of the set, it appeared as if no one was on stage, leaving the audience to wonder if the music playing was the house music. Here’s a tip to you Stephenson, set up on a table if you want your presence noted. The opener was an enjoyable, fluid set of warm and cascading rhythms and I can only see much greater days ahead for this young electronic musician.

Peter and the Wolf, who were playing their first show in Austin in a few years, played a majority of their latest lovely release Easy Mtn. The young trio were snake-bit from the onset with sound issues and emerged 20 minutes late and never managed to capture the crowd’s energetic and lofty expectations for the imminent closer. Red Hunter’s nasally vocals only seemed to pierce the first 20 listeners deep in the crammed space, while the remainder of the crowd continued their selfish conversations unapologetically. “Rosarita” still sounded great with Hunter on harmonica/uke and his pair of cute vocal harmonizers trailing along, while “Hazy Lions” fell just a little bit flat as opposed to the studio version’s depth and emotion. Overall, there may have been a touch of performance hangover and it’s obvious that the added stress from the sound issues, starting late, and apparently some looming minor “brain” surgery did not help the young trio in the least. Regardless, the talent and songwriting is there, but for this evening, the pieces just didn’t quite seem to fall into place.

As for the headliners Balmorhea, of which the opposite could be said, the display and reception provided for the budding local legends during tuning was only mere foreshadowing.  Acknowledgements of the familiar supporters in the audience was subtle but noted and off the band went, transforming the space into a massive and swirling eddy of sound and sensation. When you think of the young modern classical quintet, a few adjectives come to mind; subtle, minimalist, restrained. Yet tonight, would equate to an experiment in the deliberate, complex, and liberated; while still leaving the defining touches of a band whose talents previously were best heard in intimate spaces. Apparently gone are those quiet days best heard on the group’s latest Live LP, Live at Sint-Elisabethkerk released via Austin’s own Western Vinyl in 2011, which found the band in a cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, producing touching moments of elusiveness and caution. Pulling material from the full length of their discography including at least one new track, the band was truly in good form as the audience silently hung on every note from crescendo to dénouement. ‘Contellations’ with its playful violin by Aisha Burns in particular, from the 2010 studio release of the same name, received a great response as did ‘Settler’ from 2009’s All Is Wild, All Is Silent.

Overall, the evening displayed the warmth and joy of a young group of talented music-makers happy to share their craft with their closest friends and families in attendance. Those of us who just happened to see the new explosive Balmorhea expand from their former delicate shell will surely remember that moment fondly. It is certainly not the last we’ll hear from the group in 2012 and I expect immense things to come in the very near future.