MuchMusic.com | Blog

BY POP-KILLAH

[Note: One of our MuchMore Daily Fix bloggers checked out the Bat For Lashes show this past weekend.. here are his thoughts]

So after killing the new TWO SUNS cd I was pretty excited to see how the songs translate into a live performance. Starting pretty promptly at 8:30 in a packed Mod Club in downtown Toronto, the show began with the song that kicks off her cd, “Glass”. It’s got slow build, but as soon as the beat dropped, a collective shiver went through many in the audience, including moi. The Toronto audiences are notorious for holding onto their cool and responding to a performance with a stoic deadpan, but miss Natasha Kahn was able to give the crowd a little pulse in some of her more energetic songs like “Pearl’s Dream” (the total Kate Bush-y track) and “Two Planets” (the Bjork-y jam). She had a kick-ass drummer, and a really cool Tori Amos-esque backup vocalist/keyboardist (holler if you record your own record), alongside a pretty solid band that filled the night with atmosphere and did justice to her hour-and-a-half set. What really struck me (other than her exposed red bra…hot) was her ability to hop around to different instruments (autoharp, piano, guitar) with equal aplomb. This was the beginning of a North American tour for Bat For Lashes, and part of me feels she was slightly restrained… either to save her voice… maybe it’s her style… maybe it’s in response to the subdued Toronto audience… but I felt she was a note or two away from fully letting loose and letting go. I’m not complaining though.. especially when I wanted to yell out MARRY ME between her songs.