By happy accident, Wendy and I found ourselves seeing Maria Taylor and The Whispertown 2000 last night at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Though the show had somehow escaped our radar, we got the scoop on Saturday night from a friend of a friend who was playing with opening band Hawk and Dove, and I can’t say how glad I am.
Maria Taylor has had a special place in my heart ever since her days as half of Azure Ray, but when 11:11 was released in 2005, I became Superfan Number 99, as it were. As is evident from the recordings, the star of the show is Taylor’s mastery of songwriting. Her seemingly bottomless well of perfect pop melodies is matched by an achingly honest lyricism that seems to simultaneously stare you in the eyes and forget that you’re in the room.
As she ran through a fair sampling of her catalogue, her delicate voice somehow matching the epic sweep of her band, Taylor continuously reminded the crowd that we were the best they had seen yet on their current tour. “Do you guys want to come on tour with us?” Taylor asked more than once. “No, seriously,” she added.
When the legitimately excited crowd demanded an encore, Taylor timidly retook the stage and announced that they hadn’t done an encore yet this tour, and honestly they didn’t have any more songs prepared. The audience took this as an opportunity to shout requests, and Taylor finally acquiesced. Joined by just her keyboardist and drummer, she performed an exceedingly small version of the song “Leap Year” that was so heartbreaking it reminded me why I love live music. She played two more songs solo, all the while insisting that she didn’t have anything more prepared, before sliding off stage.
Coupled with the rolicking roots sounds of Hawk and Dove and the Whispertown 2000′s dusty, plaintive harmonies, the show was a full night of quality indie rock. I left with all three artists’ latest records, for which reviews are forthcoming.
