Beat the heat at the back of the bar
Beat the heat at the back of the bar
A recap of last week in shows featuring Selena Tibert, Mer Marcum, Sofia D'Angelo, Esther Rose, and more.
New York is hot right now, so hot I’m considering wearing open toed shoes outside (normally reserved for walking no more than a 1-block radius from my apartment; too risky otherwise in my beloved but trash-covered city!). It’s a great time to stay inside, and an even better time to retreat to your local air-conditioned venue and drink a Tecate with lime.
Last week, I did just that, with three shows on my agenda: Sunday at Gold Sounds in Bushwick for an EP release by indie folk songwriter and instrumentalist Selena Tibert, playing a set of my own on an incredible bill at the weekly Unplugged NY, and checking out the new-ish iteration of Knitting Factory to see Esther Rose.
Selena Tibert
I heard of Selena Tibert through the local folksy folk grapevine, from friends and friends-of-friends who kept telling me I had to hear her stuff. Sure enough, on my first listen, her enigmatic guitar lines and rich voice struck me as something special. I lingered over her lyrics, which share personal experiences like they were mythology. Her songs aren’t theatrical, but they scratch the same part of my musical brain as some subdued ballads from Spring Awakening or Hadestown, with nods to 60s and 70s folk that weave stories heavy with feeling that aren’t overly sentimental. Her thoughtful band arrangements were brought to life by fellow local artists Zoe Firn on violin, Amanda Salguero on bass, Evan Moore on drums, and Jesse Torres on guitar.
On Tuesday, I was on a bill at Unplugged NY. I’ve been stoked about this show for months, partially to play my own set, but mostly to hear the rest of the artists. Run by Matt Street and Jack McCann out of the cozy-cool Radio Nublu in Alphabet City, this show happens every Tuesday and has highlighted some of the best independent talent in New York. It feels familiar, like a really good house show, but with better sound and more couches to squeeze onto. When an artist on the original lineup had to cancel last minute, one of the event organizers recruited the bartender’s brother, artist Luke Pacilio of Young Lungs, to play some smooth-listening folk (like this beauty, “Toothless”). That’s called using nepotism for good, folks!
Mer Marcum
By the second act, listeners were hanging onto every measure from Mer Marcum, whose commanding vocals and biting lyrics were complemented by a seamless four-piece setup. Mer’s music lands somewhere between the grit of Indigo De Souza and the longing of Angel Olsen. The band admitted they’d never actually practiced all together, which only made their chemistry more palpable.
Mer will be releasing music later this summer. In the meantime, watch their NPR Tiny Desk Contest submission below:
Sofia D’Angelo
Next on the Unplugged bill was Sofia D’Angelo, exuding down-to-earth pop star chill in an Amy Winehouse-emblazoned mini dress. I’d heard and liked Sofia’s latest singles “Jane Goodall” and “Take It Back”, but seeing her live was like satisfying a craving I didn’t know I had. Since most of my circle leans heavily on indie-folk and adjacent genres, it was refreshing to watch such a talented vocalist focused on performance. Her cover of Lady Gaga’s “Boys Boys Boys” was a standout, and I can’t help but picture a future in which new fans of D’Angelo will lament missing the small shows of her early career, not unlike Gaga herself in her East Village days.
Esther Rose
I’d been dying to check out the new iteration of Knitting Factory, located inside community space, bar, and performance venue Baker Falls. Two of Esther Rose’s songs, “Always Changing” and “Chet Baker”, made their way into my top listens of 2023, so when I saw she was playing a “Cosmic Country Social” at this particular venue, I knew I’d found my perfect first go.
I was not disappointed. Though I was running late, I managed to catch two songs from the delightful old-time country crooner Dylan Earl, whose spoken-word banter reminded me of Townes Van Zandt’s classic Live at the Old Quarter. A crisp full band set from ethereal alt-country artist Charlotte Rose Benjamin was a treat, too.
Esther Rose then took the stage, playing a spacious set of old and new tunes. She took her time, sharing the ebbs and flows of her life as an artist and meditations on her recent wave of success following several critically-acclaimed albums, including 2023’s Safe to Run. Her voice, clear and incisive as a river, melts over simple jangly, nostalgic country guitars. It’s the perfect kind of show to see at a spot like Knitting Factory, the kind of night where you can listen to beautiful music, tap your cowboy-booted toe, tear up a little. Then you can do as the locals (me) do and have too many frozen margs before chatting up the folks at the bar who remember when this place used to be Pyramid Club.
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