note to readers: I am officially on a mad Clap Your Hands Say Yeah kick right now. Between seeing the band on Wednesday night and finding out that their lead singer is from Philly (and still lives here), I am practically listening to their album on a loop. I'll do my very best not to turn the Rant into a CYHSY fan site. No guarantees.
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A far less sweaty and more personal atmosphere greeted Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth at The Northstar Bar last night.
That's not to say that Wednesday night's show with the entire CYHSY band wasn't great, because it was. But it was not the best set of circumstances for optimal show enjoyment.
Ounsworth was the first artist to perform at The Northstar, and he played to a small group of music fans smart enough to get there early. While the Bar filled up nicely for later acts like "Mitch Fiction and the Shits", there were probably 20-30 audience member watching Ounsworth.
Ounsworth's solo music is definitely a departure for CYHSY's self-title debut album. He employs the harmonica more liberally, and the style leans more toward blues folks than it does rock n roll.
Ounsworth talked a bit more here than he did at the CHYSY show, explaining a couple of times what some of the songs were about. Several of them were politically charged musical grenades sent in the Bush administration's direction. Another, he told us, was about an encounter he had with a psychiatrist.
The Philly native was decked out in a vintage Phillies t shirt. Its great to see this guy staying true to his Philly roots despite his band's rising star. While the rest of CYHSY resides in Brooklyn, Ousworth chooses to stay in Philly and deal with the commute to practice with the band.
I got a chance to talk to Alec after his set for a minute about setting up an interview to discuss his solo work etc. We'll see where that goes.
More stuff:
Alec Ounsworth’s Website
Review of Wednesday's CYHSY show.
Here are some pics from the show. Unfortunately, the official BM Rant gig camera went on the fritz in the middle of the set. Its been fixed, so no one needs to worry. Unfortunately, I only got 4 pics.
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