Shop our Big Takeover store for back issues, t-shirts & CDs
Follow The Big Takeover
DAMON KRUKOWSKI and NAOMI YANG will likely always be linked to the band they formed with DEAN WAREHAM while the three were undergrads at Harvard University. Of course I am referring to GALAXIE 500, most likely responsible for an abrupt rise in the sales of VELVET UNDERGROUND records during the late 80s. Striking out as a pair, they’ve created quite a deep body of work in their own right, and along the way they developed a very fruitful and lasting relationship with MICHIO KURIHARA, whom I consider to be tops among the sort of people who sling guitars over their shoulder.
Together, the trio played a brace of shows in NYC and Boston where Naomi’s videos of a European tour from ten years ago captured small vignettes across various gigs. We got to see a Flemish version of a JOY DIVISION song from one of their friends, a gig on a boat with a nearby parked van converted to ersatz dressing room, and a poorly matched bill in Holland with a badly generic hardcore band shouting ‘kill the intellectuals.’ After the screening (which can be seen on the accompanying DVD of their newest release, 1001 Nights), Harvard Film Archive director HADEN GUEST led a short Q&A session, pulling out a few more details of the perspectives of what Naomi was hoping to achieve; Damon spilled the beans about the real details behind the ‘live at San Sebastian’ album (short story – the gig was aborted for a TV taping that their Spanish label wanted them to do (and which was shown as part of the film), and they later recreated the ‘live concert’).
Once the talk was over, SHARON VAN ETTEN took the stage and delivered well-crafted songs of sadness over delicately-picked guitar figures. The tone was sincere and her voice was strong; some stylistic comparisons to mid-period CAT POWER could be drawn. Despite a muted response from the crowd (polite applause at the end of each song, then silence), she looked comfortable being alone on the stage.
If anyone stumbled into this gig solely from Kurihara’s involvement, it was clear from the start that one wouldn’t be getting the molten metal growl of his work with BORIS or the keening psych shred of WHITE HEAVEN; the sorts of folk-psych sounds he trucks with GHOST were closer, but D&N play it with less mystery and more of an open heart. Naomi stuck solely to her Nord keyboard and didn’t play her familiar Gibson bass, while Damon played an acoustic guitar and reared back his head to let the sound out. The earnest folk songs were leavened by Kurihara’s accents and tones that he caressed out of his familiar SG; sometimes slight finger picking, sometimes sustained tones via an e-bow, other times strummed chords. He’s an extremely versatile player, and whereas some players would really miss the scrim that crushing volume can provide, he was completely comfortable working without it.
Highlights of the show included “Turn of the Century” and TIM BUCKLEY‘s “Song to the Siren,” and for a finale they coaxed Sharon back on stage to close with LEONARD COHEN‘s “Bird on a Wire.” The assembled crowd of friends, fans, and even elderly neighbors were appreciative of the wide range of talent on the display tonight.
More photos of both acts can be seen at my site
