RiffDraft

When I go to shows I usually make an effort to checkout opening bands. I don’t do this expecting to be impressed by the opener but because I feel the need to get my money’s worth after Ticketmaster magically turns my $20 ticket into a $40 transaction.

There has been the rare occasion that the opening act completely blows my mind and leaves the main act in the dust. My most memorable and religious revelation was seeing the Jayhawks for the first time as they opened for the Black Crows in New Orleans during my senior year of high school. (Hollywood Town Hall is my “one album to listen to if stranded on a deserted island” album.) Earlier in the year this happened again when I got the chance to see Elvis Perkins open for Clap Your Hand Say Yeah.

When Elvis and the band started up the first thought that entered my head was “He’s a nerdy Dylan”. This was mostly due to his Dylan-esque vocal style and the fact he was sporting glasses and a vest (see pic) but after the first song was finished he had won me and the pre-show crowd over. Folks started migrating toward the front and there was an absence of pre-show banter for the remainder of the set. The music was hauntingly beautiful and the musicianship superb. The excitement level was suspended by the addition of accordions and squeeze box piano contraptions popping up throughout adding to the layered sound.

His music reflects his tragic family history as he is the son of Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psyco) who died of AIDS in 1992. His mother was photographer Berry Benson who died on one of the planes that hit the World Trade center on Sept. 11th. This guy has no excuse for lack of writing material!

The live show had more energy and additional instrumentation compared to the album but this is one of my top picks for 2007.

Checkout “While You Were Sleeping” and “Ash Wednesday” here: http://myspace.com/elvisperkins