Owen Pallett @ Bowery Ballroom
Most of what has been written in the past about a Final Fantasy show was straightforward and void of expectation. However, after the now famous video of Pallett playing “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” at the Canadian Hillside Festival during a torrential thunderstorm as the stage crew desperately tries to pull him from the stage mid-song, raised the bar through the roof. His defiance and passion to continue the emotional performance as the rain pours down, is powerful enough to lift up the hair on your arms.
With last week’s release of his new concept record Heartland, Owen Pallett left his former moniker behind and now brings this new level of musical complexity and narrative storytelling to the stage. His performance is usually a one man show with Pallett playing violin and keyboards through a loop petal while singing to construct a live symphony. This time around he is joined by Thomas Gill, rounding out the sound with percussion, guitar and backing vocal harmonies. His Bowery Ballroom performance this past Monday left no room for doubt that Owen Pallet is a brilliant performer and only affirms the excellence put forth in his records. They feature compositions mixing classical music with tastefully constructed pop hooks and vocal melodies.
If you closed your eyes for a moment you could imagine a symphony of performers before you at any point of the show, while after each song Pallett softly thanked the crowd. The sheer simplicity mixed with the complex nature of recreating his arrangements stunned the Bowery crowd. Pallet’s vocals stood out in the live setting. Combining these elements, Pallet put on a 60-minute set with songs pleasing to new and old fans alike. His performance of “This is a The Dream of Emma & Cam” from 2006’s Young Canadian Mothers 7″ and the aforementioned “Lewis Takes Action” from his latest record were standouts.
Owen Pallet effortlessly recreated his complex arrangements from his impressive discography. Whether it’s the pizzicato plucking or the deep bellow of low string bass lines, down to the classical drawing of the bow over the violin strings tuned to their perfect fifths — the sound is resonant and unabridged and is complemented by the perfect key of his vocals. The charm and allure of his performance is inescapable. This was one of only three U.S. stops as part of a seven-show ”Heartland CD release tour” before a full tour of his native Canada. With so much buzz surrounding his new record, Pallett is sure to be back in the States later this year. Below are a few videos posted from the show: