Joan of Arc Bring Their Magic to Mercury Lounge

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Joan of Arc is one of the only bands that I will go out to catch live in this terrible weather New York is having right now. I managed to make it to Mercury Lounge, in the Lower East Side of the city, without falling on my face despite the ice-covered sidewalks and drizzling freezing rain. It’s a nice little haven to duck into where you are immediately greeted by the long bar before making your way to the back venue section that feels a little like a basement, but a rather large, significantly warmer one with a spacious stage. I ducked in just in time to run into Tim Kinsella on his way out. “Sorry,” he said as he squeezed past me, and since my face was numb from the cold, all I could muster was a silly grin.

Unfortunately, I had completely missed The Last Days’ set – blame it on the day job and my slow baby steps walking on the ice. Kind of a bummer, since they seem like such a mysterious band, and they don’t have any further tour dates listed for now.

Caithlin_De_Marrais

As I entered the back room, Caithlin De Marrais was setting up. You may remember Caithlin from the indie rock band Rainer Maria, which played their last show in 2006. Last year she released a solo album, My Magic City, on End Up Records (which also happens to be produced by Caithlin’s former band mate Kyle Fischer).

For her solo performance, Caithlin was considerably more subdued since the last time I saw her with Rainer Maria, but hey, that was probably four or five years ago, and in a completely different setting. Her voice is still great and her lyrics are still clever in their now softened way. Gone were the angst-ridden melodies and screams of her Rainer Maria days. Instead, her songs nicely roll along, with original grooves. She sang with her eyes closed or downcast. “It’s nice to be playing again,” she remarked at one point. It was nice to see her play again.

PillarsTongues

Pillars & Tongues were up next; a trio from Chicago. They were one of the bands who contributed to Joan of Arc’s various artist compilation Don’t Mind Control, and also released their Lay of Pilgrim Park LP last year. When they were setting up, my first thought was, “what is going on here?” They had double bass and what looked like some sort of accordion box thing, from my first vantage point. “What is that?? Whatever it is, I want to hear it.” The group of Evan Hydzik, Elizabeth Remis on violin, and Mark Trecka on the vintage accordion keyboard thing took classical sounds and made sprawling, abstract music. This was the stuff that trance meditation is made of – I’m pretty sure I zoned out at one point, but I have no idea for how long or where my mind even went. All I know is that Pillars and Tongues were droning in the background, like an atonal lullaby.

I don’t know if I was the only one, but as soon as Pillars and Tongues ended, everyone seemed to wake up and rush the stage in anticipation of  Joan of Arc. People seemed to trickle in slowly before, but by this time the place was packed all the way to the back

Tim_Kinsella

Tim Kinsella was back, sporting a Suicidal Tendencies sweatshirt during soundcheck. As I looked at the Joan of Arc crew, I suddenly felt very nostalgic. Here they were: Bobby Burg, Victor Villareal, Theo Katsaounis, and Tim Kinsella. As Joan of Arc. I’ve seen them all several times in different forms, but never under this moniker. I’d never been disappointed by any of their shows before, and I didn’t expect this show to be any different.

They started off with a song from their new album, which Kinsella talked a bit about in my interview with him here. So of course, it was on the long side, but seeing those guys play off each other made it just as interesting to watch as Kinsella’s dancing, like hidden lyrics. They then went into some older songs, like “Eventually, All at Once,” from the album of the same name. “This song has only been recorded twice, each in different versions. This is neither of those,” was Kinsella’s introduction. Then, much to my excitement, they played some Owls tunes, like “Whose Horse You Rode Id On,” “Anyone Can Have a Good Time,” and ”Everyone is My Friend.” By this time the crowd was screaming the lyrics, myself included. For someone seeing and hearing Joan of Arc for the first time, it may have been easy to miss the nuances in the connection these guys had, and the intricacies of the technical aspects of the songs, or not quite get Kinsella’s sense of humor in the between song banter. But anyone who wasn’t already familiar with the magic of Joan of Arc was greatly outnumbered by the loyal, longtime fans who loved every bit of it.

Joan_of_Arc

Joan of Arc are heading back west, through Pittsburgh on to Illinois, before finishing their tour in Australia. If you’re in those areas, don’t let the frigid weather deter you from catching the show. It’s totally worth it. So go forth, and please, show these guys some love – they deserve it.