Concert Review: Maria Taylor 7/2/2005
Maria Taylor at the Troubador, Thursday May 26, 2005, Los Angeles, CA -- July 2, 2005by Maya Marin
Noisetap Editor
My first exposure to southern folk/electronica duo Azure Ray was while coming off a steady diet of Jeff Buckley--an experience akin to walking out of a frenzied Pentecostal church service and straight into a Buddhist monastery. At that time, I was not prepared for songs of anguish to come in the form of hushed, ethereal vocals and programmed blips and beats beneath pretty acoustic guitars. Where, I asked, were the cymbal crashes and impassioned vocal acrobatics? After a few more listens, I realized that what I had first mistaken as a lack of effort was simply well-chosen restraint. It's what Azure Ray doesn't do that makes all the difference--and it's what makes their music so incredibly touching.
When I heard that Maria Taylor (one half of Azure Ray) had chosen to record an album (
11:11) without musical partner Orenda Fink, I was intrigued. Was there an inner Maria Taylor or perhaps another facet of her personality that went unrealized in Azure Ray? I quickly got myself to Taylor's solo gig at L.A.'s Troubador to find out.
The crowd was of modest size, leaving plenty of elbow space for us eager patrons. I’d expected a slightly larger turnout--with her being (apart from Azure Ray) the “female voice” of the wildly successful Saddle Creek label--her vocals appearing on albums by Bright Eyes, The Faint and Now It’s Overhead.
Taylor humbly set up her own gear onstage and after testing the mics, she and her band dove into the opening song, “Xanax.” “Wall of sound” was definitely not a phrase I had anticipated using when writing a Maria Taylor review, yet that’s exactly what the chorus of this opener swelled into, with distortion blaring from Taylor’s electric guitar and often drowning out her delicate vocals. It became apparent to me there and then that there was another side to Taylor--and it wanted to rock out.
Something else I hadn’t expected to write for this particular review: “disco ball.” Indeed, there was one rotating above Taylor as she and the band performed “One for the Shareholder”--a fun, catchy,‘80s inspired dance tune that somehow works for today despite an obvious cheese factor. With its dated synth beats I felt the only thing missing from the production was a robotic voice urging listeners to “do the electric boogie.” It is Taylor’s clever lyrics and minimalist vocal style that salvages the tune from completely falling off into kitsch territory.
The best performances of the evening were the bare, stripped down numbers when Taylor played alone with her acoustic guitar or with very little accompaniment, as her biggest strengths are her lyrics, melodies and pretty vocals--all of which were obscured during the heavily instrumented “Xanax,” “Shareholder,” “Leap Year,” and “Song Beneath the Song.” All great upbeat pop tunes with Taylor’s signature downbeat lyrics, but much better listened to on her album where her words and vocals sit nicely on top.
My favorite moments were the poignant “Two of Those Too,” the jazzy, Tin Pan Alley-esque “Speakeasy,” and her closing number--a stark, moving rendition of Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw your Face.” Her live vocals are even more compelling than her recorded, studio performances, so I was disappointed to see her walk offstage after having given us only ten short songs. Following her eighth number, she politely explained in so many words that there would be no encore and to please not ask for one. Perhaps her budding solo repertoire was still in need of expansion and/or more band rehearsals.
Despite the short set and the too frequent moments where Taylor’s voice was drowned out--for the numbers that
did manage to effectively showcase her songwriting and that distinctive, honeyed voice, it was definitely a show well worth the trip.
