Agnes Obel, Danish singer/songwriter, played Monday night Down Stairs at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, with folk veteran Mia Doi Todd opening.
Both women have unique voices. Todd would be at home in the 1960s (think: Festival Express), opening for Richie Havens/Buffy Sainte-Marie; her soft spoken introduction parting her thick curly hair, only to impress and comfort the audience with her warm and expansive range. Todd writes songs about love, the moon, oceans, and Brazilian river goddesses (“Canto de lemanja”), sung in her sweet-sexy alto, with classical basic acoustic style; like I said—faultlessly ’60s.
Obel strays from the time-honored American folk vibe set by Todd. She performs an instrumental introduction moving quickly into “Philharmonics.”
“Guess who died, last night / In grey stockings, in all might / It was no loss / The only God of mine / He fell down, just do drown / In a sea of delight / To tame champagne / And creatures of the night / As the water, took him over / Filled his lungs, inside out / I sold his gold / For flowers and rice/ Speaking fire, he would hire / Pawns and peasants just like me / To feed upon the conquered ones / But now we are free.”
After this depressing tale she moves to “Beast”—“This is for all you people out there who have a problem with your temper.”
I believe her accompanist, Anna, played a total of three instruments, guitar, melodica, and cello. Anna captivates us with her cello pieces, lending the disquieting tone for which Obel’s songs call. Obels’ voice opens up midway through her set, New Song (possible working title “Fuel & Fire”) was a little bumpy, her “oooos” sounding crackly and unstable, but when all was quiet, Obel shone, centering herself and her vocals amidst a suspense-building cello number and moments of silence.
She wound down with “Riverside” (which played live definitely sounded like Jules’ version of “Mad World”), and in the final tune they end crisply, leaving the attentive basement crowd wanting more. The acoustics and ambience in the Synagogue’s Down Stairs were expectedly weaker than the ornate interior and high ceilings of the floor just above, but for smaller acts, this location and artist accessibility may be just what they need to gain notoriety.
