Hope Sandoval played an intoxicating show at the Bluebird Theater last night. Photos by Luz Gallardo.
is the antidote to the big rock show. Sandoval, who achieved modest success as the frontwoman for ’90s alterna-darlings Mazzy Star, came to the on Thursday night in support of her new CD, “Through the Devil Softly,” her first release since 2002.
Whereas many rock shows seem to emphasize bigger lights, productions and spectacle, everything about Sandoval’s show was designed to emphasize the music. She and her band, the Warm Inventions, were barely backlit onstage, so they performed mostly in the dark. Indeed, you could barely see their faces.
Sandoval’s video display was also lo-fi, a series of images that looked like they were from 1920s silent films projected on a giant bedsheet behind the drummer.
All of this served to showcase the music even more. At times, the Bluebird felt like a church filled with Sandoval co-religionists. The atmosphere was so chill that, though the lead guitarist muted his sound when he tuned between songs, you could hear him plucking the strings.
Sandoval herself is a contrast to singers who seem all about ego. She barely spoke to the audience at all, saying “thank you” on three separate occasions. And once, when someone in the audience screamed Hope’s praises, she allowed herself a wry smile and said, “Aren’t you guys bored? Just a little?”
Musically, she and her band were tight from the first song, “Blanchard,” which is also the first song on the new CD. Backing band the Warm Inventions are former My Bloody Valentine Drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig and Irish band Dirt Blue Gene, who also opened the show. Guitarist Dave Brennan added a beautifully textured solo at the end of “Blanchard.”
Dirt Blue Gene singer/guitarist Charles Cullen played delicate acoustic guitar over Cíosóig’s shuffle beat on the drums during “Thinking Like That.”
Sandoval herself played xylophone, glockenspiel and harmonica on several tracks, always adding to the ethereal feel of her songs. The xylophone in particular was used to great effect on “Around My Smile.”
Sandoval’s vocals had a lot of reverb on them, and they were turned down in the mix during the first portion of the show, making it hard to decipher her lyrics. Sandoval has always been a shy performer, and that is why she doesn’t like her vocals to stand out.
However, by the time they launched into the anthemic “Trouble,” she’d found her comfort range, and her voice came through clearly over the alternating choppy rhythms and cleanly picked lines of Brennan’s Fender guitar.
Sandoval ended her set with a fierce “For the Rest of Your Life.” Brennan and bass player Al Browne, who switched to guitar for the song, made clever use of delay to create a hypnotic effect that made it sound like the soundtrack to the end of the world, and Sandoval’s xylophone was made all the more striking.
Sandoval returned for a double encore. On the last song, “Feeling of Gaze,” Brennan’s guitar slyly echoed the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday.”
For people who prefer music to spectacle, Sandoval’s show was one of the highlights of the year.
Follow Reverb on Twitter! !
Candace Horgan is a Denver freelance writer/photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. When not writing and shooting, she plays guitar and violin in Denver band the defCATS.
