Went and saw the mindblowingly talented CPS w/ Julia Christgau at Rockwood Music Hall. Not only was it Chris’s record release party, but it was his 30th birthday… and the start of a grueling, 3 month tour schedule that will be full of more stories, strange times and wild places than I can fathom. I’d check their tour schedule if you live down south, or in the lower midwest… they’re very talented, and utter troubadours.
The intensity of the show was like a pressure cooker– Chris cranes over and huddles in his guitar, his leg lightly kicking and pawing at the ground like a restless horse. The music wracks his body– its an incredibly physical show, and the music is played so well and richly, its hard not to fall into it too. The lyrics are clear, compelling, and marrow-deep– the musical switchback between torment and grace leaves space to breathe, but the lyrics are involving to the point of smothering.
The intimacy between Chris and Julia was something I had only previously seen when drawing School of Seven Bells, (and CPS’s show, I guess–) I love the way she looks wistfully when she’s lingering, just offstage, and how she clutches the tiny tambourine.