Camera
Obscura
World
Café Live 7-19-14
Laura
Cantrell, who I recall seeing at a folk song society in Hightstown, NJ called
Outta Sights and Sounds, was the opening act. Her blend of Americana, folk, and
indie folk was pitch perfect. With
a friend for extra musical punch, their guitars, acoustic, and, on few numbers,
lap steel, produced for a sound that was punchier and purer than indie folk and
the neo folk of Mumford, his Sons, and extended family. And the Kitty Wells
songs were just the right touch of old-time country.
Camera
Obscura plays very quiet, nuanced, finely detailed indie rock, with flashes of
the Brill Building for spice. I
love them dearly, but had never seen them live, and wondered how their sound
would translate to the stage. I wondered no more after the first song. By beefing up their hushed sound with
an extra guitarist, percussion, and a keyboard player, their masterpieces, old
and new, came across with the same tension and grit, that they use so well on
disk. Tracyanne Campbell’s barbed lyrics came across clearly, and she never had
to raise her voice to quiet the crowd, which like all club crowds, likes to
chatter. Campbell came across as
friendly and sweet, much the way I’d imagined from Camera’s albums.
The
band is on a tour of the Eastern US.
Their current album came out last year. Tracyanne and another member, Gavin Dunbar, each took time
for maternity and paternity leave, and now they’re back at work. I strongly recommend catching them if
you can. They are a treat to see,
hear, and thrill to.
Andrea Weiss
