Cate Le Bon w/ Kevin Morby – 7th St. Entry, Minneapolis (25 Jan 2014) concert review
Cate Le Bon Setlist
- No God
- Are You With Me Now?
- I Can’t Help You
- Duke
- Puts Me to Work
- Eyes So Bright
- Mirror Me
- Me Oh My
- Sisters
- Falcon Eyed
- What Is Worse
- Wild
— Encore —
- The Man I Wanted
- Fold the Cloth
Tour Dates
01/28/14 Norman, OK – The Opolis
01/29/14 Austin, TX – The Mohawk
01/31/14 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
02/01/14 San Diego – Soda Bar
02/06/14 Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate
02/07/14 London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall
02/08/14 Cardiff, UK – Gate
02/10/14 Cambridge, UK – Cambridge Junction
02/11/14 Liverpool, UK – Leaf Tea Shop And Bar
2/12/14 Glasgow, UK – Broadcast
02/13/14 Gateshead, UK – Sage Gateshead
02/15/14 Manchester, UK – Deaf Institute
02/16/14 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
02/17/14 Brighton, UK – Komedia
02/18/14 Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds
02/19/14 Bristol, UK -Colston Hall
02/20/14 Le Grand Mix – Fireworks Festival
02/21/14 I Boat, Bordeaux, France
02/22/14 Nouvelle Vague – Saint-Malo, France
02/24/14 Le Sonic, Lyon, France
02/25/14 Point Ephemere, Paris, France
02/26/14 Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
02/27/14 Brussels, Belgium – AB Club
02/28/14 Parenthèse Les Hivernales Festival
03/01/14 Palace, St Gallen, Switzerland
03/04/14 Prinzenbar, Hamburg, Germany
03/05/14 Studio 672, Cologne, Germany
03/21/14 New York, NY – Webster Hall *
03/22/14 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer*
03/23/14 Washington, DC – Black Cat*
03/25/14 Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall*
03/26/14 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick*
03/28/14 Chicago, IL – Metro*
03/29/14 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
* with Warpaint
01/29/14 Austin, TX – The Mohawk
01/31/14 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
02/01/14 San Diego – Soda Bar
02/06/14 Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate
02/07/14 London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall
02/08/14 Cardiff, UK – Gate
02/10/14 Cambridge, UK – Cambridge Junction
02/11/14 Liverpool, UK – Leaf Tea Shop And Bar
2/12/14 Glasgow, UK – Broadcast
02/13/14 Gateshead, UK – Sage Gateshead
02/15/14 Manchester, UK – Deaf Institute
02/16/14 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
02/17/14 Brighton, UK – Komedia
02/18/14 Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds
02/19/14 Bristol, UK -Colston Hall
02/20/14 Le Grand Mix – Fireworks Festival
02/21/14 I Boat, Bordeaux, France
02/22/14 Nouvelle Vague – Saint-Malo, France
02/24/14 Le Sonic, Lyon, France
02/25/14 Point Ephemere, Paris, France
02/26/14 Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
02/27/14 Brussels, Belgium – AB Club
02/28/14 Parenthèse Les Hivernales Festival
03/01/14 Palace, St Gallen, Switzerland
03/04/14 Prinzenbar, Hamburg, Germany
03/05/14 Studio 672, Cologne, Germany
03/21/14 New York, NY – Webster Hall *
03/22/14 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer*
03/23/14 Washington, DC – Black Cat*
03/25/14 Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall*
03/26/14 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick*
03/28/14 Chicago, IL – Metro*
03/29/14 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
* with Warpaint
“…can anybody play bass…?”
Cate Le Bon reluctantly asked that question to the 7th St. Entry crowd on a chilly Saturday night in town, a few songs into her performance after noticing her bass player abruptly disappeared.
Thankfully, he was only temporarily overheated, returned to the stage, and the show went on as planned as the Welsh-born, now Los Angeles-based, singer-songwriter played a 65 min. set in support of songs from her latest, Mug Museum (Turnstile/Wichita).
Kansas City native Kevin Morby, who plays in Vivian Girls side project The Babies, as well as is the bassist for Woods, opened with a 40 min. pensive set of songs culled from his solo debut, Harlem River (Woodsist Records), which he describes as a homage to New York City. Most of the set was similarly mid-tempo’d and intimate in their storytelling lyrics, with Cate LeBon herself guesting on stage midway through, on “Slow Train”, reprising their duet from the record.
After a brief set change and switching out only the drummer (the backing bassist and guitarist played both sets), Le Bon began, dressed in a Top Gun-like zippered flight deck-looking jumper, with the haunting ‘No God’. ‘Are You With Me Now?’, supposedly inspired by the recent death of her grandmother followed, Le Bon balancing the bleak lyrics of the death of a loved one, over jagged guitar riffs pining for resolution.
It was (ironically) after ‘Puts Me to Work’ that Le Bon noticed her bassist was missing from the stage, which no doubt jarred the rhythm of the show, but was quickly recovered. “He was overheating…like a car”, Le Bon joked gathering her gumption to carry on, “it’s a little bit awkward when I turn around and you’re not there”.
‘Eyes So Bright’ was a slow build, from a beginning psychedelic keyboard riff, to thundering drums by New Zealand drummer Daniel Ward (of Lawrence Arabia and The Sneaks) over Le Bon’s rising vocals.
Hints of the Velvet Underground with Nico peppered ‘Mirror Me’ and ‘Me Oh My’, while ‘Falcon Eyed’ from previous album, Cryk, is a flat-out stomper, anchored by a driving bass drum and unbridled keyboards.
Despite her recent move to Los Angeles injecting some lightness into her music, her Welsh background seems to always belie a certain dourness to the songs and a perceived aloofness on stage; not that it’s a bad thing. Her deep throated vocals can move from a siren’s angelic lilt to a more chaotic, sometimes banshee wail in a moment, in a style that is all her own.
Le Bon ended her set with ‘Wild’, jangly guitar notes a backdrop to her church echo’d voice before a keyboard flourish raised the tempo and pushed the song, headlong, to the end. She returned to the stage for a two-song encore (not on the setlist pic); the brooding ‘The Man I Wanted’ and ‘Fold the Cloth’, with its evocative lyrics, “tuck your belly in your chest and see how close we are.”
And with that, she was gone. Likely relieved that her band (ahem, bassist) could even finish the show and turning in what ended up being an ideal soundtrack to a blustery, sub-zero snowy night…like it might have been set in the Welsh Highlands.
Those that missed Cate Le Bon in Minneapolis will have another chance though, as she joins Warpaint on a very brief spring leg of their tour; playing First Avenue on March 29, en route west to Coachella two weeks later.
Cate Le Bon reluctantly asked that question to the 7th St. Entry crowd on a chilly Saturday night in town, a few songs into her performance after noticing her bass player abruptly disappeared.
Thankfully, he was only temporarily overheated, returned to the stage, and the show went on as planned as the Welsh-born, now Los Angeles-based, singer-songwriter played a 65 min. set in support of songs from her latest, Mug Museum (Turnstile/Wichita).
Kansas City native Kevin Morby, who plays in Vivian Girls side project The Babies, as well as is the bassist for Woods, opened with a 40 min. pensive set of songs culled from his solo debut, Harlem River (Woodsist Records), which he describes as a homage to New York City. Most of the set was similarly mid-tempo’d and intimate in their storytelling lyrics, with Cate LeBon herself guesting on stage midway through, on “Slow Train”, reprising their duet from the record.
After a brief set change and switching out only the drummer (the backing bassist and guitarist played both sets), Le Bon began, dressed in a Top Gun-like zippered flight deck-looking jumper, with the haunting ‘No God’. ‘Are You With Me Now?’, supposedly inspired by the recent death of her grandmother followed, Le Bon balancing the bleak lyrics of the death of a loved one, over jagged guitar riffs pining for resolution.
It was (ironically) after ‘Puts Me to Work’ that Le Bon noticed her bassist was missing from the stage, which no doubt jarred the rhythm of the show, but was quickly recovered. “He was overheating…like a car”, Le Bon joked gathering her gumption to carry on, “it’s a little bit awkward when I turn around and you’re not there”.
‘Eyes So Bright’ was a slow build, from a beginning psychedelic keyboard riff, to thundering drums by New Zealand drummer Daniel Ward (of Lawrence Arabia and The Sneaks) over Le Bon’s rising vocals.
Hints of the Velvet Underground with Nico peppered ‘Mirror Me’ and ‘Me Oh My’, while ‘Falcon Eyed’ from previous album, Cryk, is a flat-out stomper, anchored by a driving bass drum and unbridled keyboards.
Despite her recent move to Los Angeles injecting some lightness into her music, her Welsh background seems to always belie a certain dourness to the songs and a perceived aloofness on stage; not that it’s a bad thing. Her deep throated vocals can move from a siren’s angelic lilt to a more chaotic, sometimes banshee wail in a moment, in a style that is all her own.
Le Bon ended her set with ‘Wild’, jangly guitar notes a backdrop to her church echo’d voice before a keyboard flourish raised the tempo and pushed the song, headlong, to the end. She returned to the stage for a two-song encore (not on the setlist pic); the brooding ‘The Man I Wanted’ and ‘Fold the Cloth’, with its evocative lyrics, “tuck your belly in your chest and see how close we are.”
And with that, she was gone. Likely relieved that her band (ahem, bassist) could even finish the show and turning in what ended up being an ideal soundtrack to a blustery, sub-zero snowy night…like it might have been set in the Welsh Highlands.
Those that missed Cate Le Bon in Minneapolis will have another chance though, as she joins Warpaint on a very brief spring leg of their tour; playing First Avenue on March 29, en route west to Coachella two weeks later.
Cate Le Bon at 7th St. Entry, Minneapolis (25 Jan 2014)
