Theresa Andersson brought her one-woman show to Sticky Fingerz last night and left what is sure to be a lasting impression on all who were fortunate enough to have seen and heard it. Those who showed up not knowing about her unique style of performance (including me) were stunned by the sheer audacity, talent, style, and beauty of what they experienced. It's nearly impossible not to fall under this woman's spell.
For those not familiar with Andersson's recent work, highlighted in her latest album, 2008's Hummingbird, Go!, she uses a series of foot-controlled loop pedals to sample short segments of musical sound created with, at various times, a violin, a guitar, a dulcimer, drums, a record player, and her own voice, live on stage. She then performs by singing and playing live while at the same time playing back the looped recordings of one or more of the instruments to emulate the sound of a full band and an array of back-up singers. All the while, Andersson bounces, sways and just generally appears to have a great time making her olympic physical, vocal and musical dexterity appear to be a piece of cake. It makes for one hell of a show, and she clearly enjoys leaving an uninitiated audience dumbfounded by the end of her first song. Her playful enthusiasm and abandon while onstage, combined with her incredible talent, is mesmerizing to watch, and I caught more than one person last night mouthing words of surprise and amazement to other people in the audience.
Swedish by birth, Andersson moved to New Orleans in 1990 to play violin with fellow Swede Anders Osborne. She still calls the city home, and it was in her kitchen there that, along with producer Tobias Froberg, she recorded Hummingbird, Go! for Basin Street Records in the fall of 2007. Her self-made video of her performing the song "Na Na Na" in her kitchen became somewhat of a YouTube sensation, and she has since posted another video recorded in the same kitchen for "Birds Fly Away".
Andersson's sound is almost as hard to describe as her technique. It's been described as everything from indie to soul to jazz and blues-rock, and there are probably elements of all of that in her music. It is certainly ethereal at times, often experimental, and always intriguing. The sixth track, "Innan du Gar", centers on what sounds like a traditional Chinese melody. "Na Na Na", with its infectious drum riff and back-beat rimshots, is pure indie. "God's Highway" has a melodic folk sound to it, softer but no less interesting. Frankly, the album doesn't have a bad track on it.
If you missed her show last night, watch Andersson's kitchen videos to see what you missed, and make plans to be there next time. You can watch "Na Na Na" here, and "Birds Fly Away" here.
-Richie Graham
RSS Feed