Viva Voce at the Crystal Ballroom

Although I enjoyed Viva Voce's Get Yr Blood Sucked Out so much that it made my top albums of 2006 list, I had not seen them live until last night. Blew. Me. Away. They filled Portland's Crystal Ballroom with a sound so big and rich that I could've sworn there were ten musicians up on stage. Who knew two people could make so much noise?Partners in both music and marriage, duo Kevin and Anita Robinson won over my ears and my heart. Anita has a delightful breathy voice that also manages to be loud and crisp - somewhat like Mary Timony, only with better enunciation. Not to mention her guitar prowess - that girl can rock with the best of them. And Kevin has one of those irresistibly charming stage personas. Plus, I can't think of anyone else I've seen that plays two instruments...at the same at time.Kevin came out on stage to perform the first song of the encore with the Shins. Before the song, he did the heavy metal drumstick twirl, then whipped out a cowbell and started wailing on it. I mean, he owned that thing. As he continued to wail on the cowbell, he started simultaneously headbanging and doing the pony. I can't even remember what song it was. Kevin was that fantastically distracting.Oh yeah, did I mention Viva Voce are supporting some little indie band called the Shins on their current tour? (The Shins were pretty good, too.)