Shakesbeard in Love – Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy Live in Berlin
UPDATE (07/07/08): monikpaj from last.fm wrote and solved the mystery:
“petulia=patchoulie=no1 hippy scent. inscence as well as perfume. and yes it stinks.”
Doing a quick search on Full Fucking Moon, there doesn’t seem to be any information about the band that opens for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy (a.k.a. Will Oldham) on Wednesday night. Their music is just as elusive and defies any taxonomy. For the category fetishists out there you can probably call it Industrial Blues or Gothic Folk. The trio is mostly wordless, and the bassist opens her mouth occasionally to growl and moan. In another song she just says the word “fantasy” from beginning to end. The seeming repetition and monotony is a just disguise though; indeed, the first 10 minutes appears to be nothing but jarring noise that circles around and goes nowhere. But the band takes its time to introduce their sound. In fact, the mystic, periodic whooshing of microphone echoes that plays in the concert hall before the show starts is probably part of Full Fucking Moon’s design too. And so gradually lushness and complexity surface. You hear that the volume of the bass actually come in waves. The capricious drum patterns starts to feel less random and begins to communicate something logical. Now this is what I call music.
When Oldham comes out on stage with the rest of his quintet, a person in the front row consults her friend trying to figure out which one is Bonnie ‘Prince Billy, and seems rather unimpressed that the plaid shirt, rolled-up jeans and pinkish-red Burki’s Clogs wearing bearded bassist is the person they come to listen to. Next to him from right to left are a guitarist, a double bassist, a percussionist and a violinist. They start with No Bad News and immediately chase away any darkness. For an audience that tends to focus more on instrumentation and melodies rather than lyricism and meanings when it comes to music, Oldham is particularly sing-along folky and country in major key tonight. Rather consistent with his latest studio releases, there’s no despair nor hopelessness. Towards middle of the show Oldham explains to the audience that he usually talks a lot more than this, but since “you guys all grow up watching dubbed TV you probably don’t know a word I’m saying anyway.” But Oldham does want people to listen to his lyrics. So he enunciates his words with hyperbolical gesture and mimic. He wants to entertain too: he would stand on one leg singing with a straight face, or crouch slightly akimbo, or thrust his hip amused and stares. Oldham even attempts a joke (I know I didn’t get it right because it’s not making sense…but this is what I think I heard):
“Why did God invent Petulia(huh?)? Do you all know what Petulia(?) is?” (audience remains silent)
“So that the blind can hate hippies too.” (audience bursts out laughing; apparently I’m the only one who doesn’t get it)
Clearly love is tonight’s theme. Idyllic love, amorous love, reckless love, oh and a girl who loves to go down on Oldham. All the songs are rearranged and given a more upbeat treatment; there are a few darker moments but frivolity always takes over. Joshua Abrams’ double bass entwines seamlessly with the percussions and gives each beats a different musical shade; and it’s beautiful to see Michael Zerang caresses, taps, drums and spanks his drum sets that resonate and impact. Emmett Kelly’s skillful guitar and converse harmoniously with Oldham’s bass as Jennifer Hutt’s violin leads the discussion. Hutt’s voice stands out among her male counterparts but is never obtrusive. As the night deepens, everyone’s falling in love with the quintet.
[This is where you usually see my video clips of the concert but the Schiller Theater explicitly prohibits any filming and recording...so go see him live already.]
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is touring Europe:
Fri July 4 Rudolstadt, Germany Rudolstadt Festival
Sun July 6 Roskilde, Denmark Roskilde Festival
Mon July 7 Aarhus, Denmark Voxhall
Tue July 8 Copenhagen, Denmark Tivoli Theatre
Thu July 10 Madrid, Spain Joy Eslava
Fri July 11 Lisbon, Portugal ZDB Gallery
Sat July 12 Lisbon, Portugal ZDB Gallery
Sun July 13 Porto, Portugal Mercedes
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