(Photo via
ladyhawkladyhawk.com)Ladyhawk - 2006 August 05The Echo - Los Angeles, CA(8 songs; setlist unknown)Recording quality: A- (digital audience recording)Gig rating: 6.5/10
See below to downloadAs I walked up to
The Echo I found Jason Molina, like Frogger, challenging the five lanes of traffic on Sunset Boulevard in an attempt to make his way to the nondescript Mexican restaurant across the street. Apparently he and
Ladyhawk had dinner there a bit earlier and he'd forgotten a bottle of booze gifted him by the band.Returning back to The Echo, Jason introduced me to a few of the members of Ladyhawk, a band hailing from East Vancouver who had been opening for
Magnolia Electric Co. over the past several weeks. This evening was to be their last show together and the hooch was in appreciation for their tour together. As I've
mentioned previously, Jason's set as Magnolia Electric Co. was, as always, a treat. The surprise, though, was the short set by Ladyhawk, who I'd not heard previously and who succeeded in not only keeping my interest but leaving me wanting more.Structurally the band, whose
four month old eponymous album is distributed by
JagJaguwar, suggests elements of earlier
Two Dollar Guitar and to a lesser extent
16 Horsepower, though vocally their music might be more aptly described as reminiscent of
Wolf Parade or even
Xiu Xiu. There's also more than a little bit of a nod to the brand of indie propagated by
Modest Mouse.The
Music Genome Project describes them as employing basic rock song structures, subtle use of vocal harmony, extensive vamping, meandering melodic phrasing, mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation and melodic style. If anything, while certainly competent in their own right, it might be apropos to say that Ladyhawk is likely a band that will be, rather than one whom is. Whether this takes place through a change in lineup or direction remains to be seen.The band is currently
on tour again and will be traveling through Canada prior to making their way through the American Midwest, the East, then the Pacific Northwest by way of Texas. They're definitely worth the price of admission so do make the effort to check them out if they're in your neck of the woods.
Download the gig:
mp3 format at multiply.com (personal listening only)
CD-quality flac format at Dimeadozen (for
trading / seeding)
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