adventures in east atlanta, part 3: envie at the earl
I caught the Envie show at The Earl last night. Although the vocals were buried in the mix*, it was still a good show. As some of you may know, the musicians in Envie change periodically, with only Renee remaining constant. While all the configurations have featured top-notch local talent, this is my favorite line-up. I particularly enjoy the guitar noises that Chris Hoke adds to the already lush sound. Additionally, on songs that feature Renee on harp the interplay between electric guitar and traditional harp is fantastically original and invigorating.
Twittering Machine was the headlining band, and they were very good. Like Envie, they break away from the traditional vocals, guitar, bass, and drums configuration of a standard issue rock band. The addition of a cellist gives them a unique sound and provides an interesting counterpoint to the guitar player. They also accomplished two key things, which are:
- Made an accordion cool; and
- inspired people to dance.**
notes:
* since the poor mixing at The Earl is legendary, I am not going to kick that dead horse in excruciating detail at great length here. And The Earl’s ability to book great bands on a regular basis more than makes up for this shortcoming.
** absolutely no one dances at indie rock shows in Atlanta. It is positively unheard of, which makes this an amazing feat.