Last night’s show at Envelope is the kind of thing that, as a music writer, warms my heart. Envelope is a newly opened (about four months old) all-purpose music space designed for everything from rehearsals and shows to recording sessions. Located somewhere in Bushwick, its address is kept secret until you buy a ticket. I had my doubts about this secrecy at first. Are the owners trying to keep it exclusive? Is this a marketing ploy to drive up prices? But it turns out that the reason is much more admirable: Envelope’s staff is simply trying to keep their shows from getting broken up. The performance space is really just someone’s apartment, and so these “shows” can officially only be “parties,” and fall into a legal grey area.

Whatever Envelope officially is, its goal is to provide a space to a growing community of musicians and music lovers. It succeeds admirably in its community feel. The venue is very intimate, and three free drinks (with the purchase of a ticket) were served from the kitchen/bar. Staff members came around between sets with plates of hors d’oeuvres. And although I definitely got the feeling that most people at the concert knew the people running the show, the venue didn’t have too much of a clique-ish feel. Rather, it was a friendly, warm place to be. How much the free drinks had to do with that last bit, I’m not sure.

An hour or so after the doors opened – while most of the audience was finishing their first drink – Sleeping States took the stage.

Sleeping States is Markland Starkie, currently of Bristol, U.K. The name of his project is fitting; each of his songs build themselves off of one short loop, washing over the audience like waves as Starkie sings above it. At Envelope he played a two-man set, his auxiliary player picking up a portion of the non-looping drum, bass, and guitar parts.

There was, unfortunately, at lot of trouble coordinating the looping and the live sounds. There were a few stop-and-starts, and a lot of shuffling around to make everything work. Starkie acknowledged as much, mentioning that this was the second show he had ever played with this particular setup. Although his live show had promise, it was difficult to get past these “toothing problems,” as he put it.

His best song, the name of which I didn’t catch (Starkie had a habit of trailing off at the end of his introductions), was fantastic. Rather than using a pre-recorded track, he used a loop pedal to record his guitar part and multiple tracks of vocals, erecting a cathedral of sound right in front of the audience. When the song was over I felt transformed in that hard-to-pinpoint way that good music can provoke. I hope that once he has experience with his current setup, more of his songs will have this effect.

If you’re not familiar with the music of Nina Nastasia, you’re missing out. Volumes can be written about her voice. Agile and sultry, it can be strong when it needs to, but is most powerful in its moments of weakness. Nastasia knows exactly when to let her voice die out into wisps of air and when to hold on to a single fragile note for that extra second.

The heart-wrenching fragility of her voice can be compared to fellow singer/songwriter Regina Spektor. But Nastasia’s lyrics are infinitely darker, often frightened, and occasionally very angry. Her love songs – like my recent favorite, “Cry, Cry Baby –” are so simple and so beautiful that it’s easy to overlook the sense of loss that they communicate. In her songs Nastasia is hopelessly possessive of those that she loves; when she has to give up what she possesses, her lyrics ring with emotional devastation.

She also has a tendency to leave her songs hanging on strangely hollow, bitter notes. The chorus of “Stormy Weather,” for example, repeats the line “I’m not afraid of stormy weather,” over and over again, but ends “I’m afraid of stormy weather/ there’s nothing I can do/ there’s nothing you can do.”

And so, fittingly, the moment she opened her mouth at Envelope last night, the room fell silent.  It was a solo set, Nastasia accompanying herself of guitar with tenderly finger-picked chords. She wisely kept the guitar background simple, putting the full spotlight on her vocals. On her albums she includes a string section and occasional drums. Her strikingly bare string arrangements are a big part of her unique sound, and I definitely did miss them. I’m not sure if she ever tours with a full band, but I’m aching to hear them live.

Her voice easily filled up the small venue, and the audience’s attention was rapt for the entire set. It felt as if only after her encore did the room breathe again.

Nastasia has released many albums, the most recent in June 2010. You can find them here and here. She has no upcoming shows listed, but check her Myspace page for more info.

Just to be extra super safe about not accidentally disclosing Envelope’s location, I’ve decided not to upload pictures or video from the show; you’ll just have to check it out for yourself. I plan on being there for their next big show. I hope you are too. In the meantime, check out this amazing YouTube video of Nina performing “Cry, Cry Baby.”