New York – Sunday evening in Greenwich Village was a bustle of activity, the streets alive with eternal optimists hoping to keep the work week at bay, if briefly. But the weekend warriors were in luck, because the intrepid Doe Paoro was on deck to perform as a supporting act for S. Carey at Le Poisson Rouge. The show to come was a pristine portrait of an impassioned and highly talented musician on the rise, and the perfect conclusion to one of our city summer’s numbered days.
The neighborhood that is home to Le Poisson Rouge is worthy of note. While the typical NYC venue is majestic in its grittiness, and its surrounding territory can feel like an urban battlefield, Greenwich Village’s chic persona elevated the evening to exceptional experiential planes. The streets glow with ornamental, European-style cafes and the storefronts boast antique furniture and infant apparel so stylish it could prompt one baby to turn to another with genuine shock and envy to ask, “My goodness, who are you wearing?”
But inside the venue, the stage was primed for more intangible indulgences. Storming the stage a bit past 8PM, Paoro launched directly into the ever-affecting track “Born Whole,” and focused with rapidity every shred of attention on essential, immaterial thrills. As a recording, “Born Whole” packs a punch, and its live incarnation cuts yet quicker to the gut. Paoro’s on-stage energy matched the track’s pulsating bass, and established an enlivened tone that marked her performance in full.
Paoro kept the banter to a minimum, but allowed herself one or two anecdotes to decorate the 45-minute set. “I just got back from a month in India,” she shared after delivering her first song, “and I’ve been thinking a lot about how our connection to nature affects our state of mind.”
Paoro’s work is strongly informed by meditation, and themes of detachment are omnipresent in her lyricism. To see a contemporary act draw so heavily on spirituality is inspiring to say the least, particularly in ways that are unabashed and sonically explosive. All throughout Paoro’s set, one could plainly see that this artist’s compositions came from a sacred place of authenticity. It’s rare to witness high-caliber presence of mind face-to-face, and all in attendance benefited from Paoro’s enlightened expressionism.
Introspective influences aside, what really makes Paoro’s live showing sparkle is her razor-sharp attitude. Herein lies the dichotomy of Paoro’s works: these tracks roll together soul-born contemplation and straight-laced ferocity. In her recordings and on stage, Paoro flirts with darkness. The resulting product is a soulful, head-banging bundle of indie-soul-rock (if such a genre exists).
Doe Paoro is a self-taught pianist and vocalist, and her bandmates include Yuri Hart, Sean Hutchinson, David Lizmi, Adam Rhodes and Grant Zubritsky. This Brooklyn-based band surfaced in earnest with 2012′s LP Slow To Love. Now, Paoro is about to strike out on a domestic tour for the month of September, where she is slated to share the stage with Sylvan Esso and My Brightest Diamond. Her most recent release is the Ink On The Walls EP, released this year and recorded at Bon Iver’s famed studio in rural Wisconsin. Clearly endorsed by all the right people, it won’t be long before this musician makes waves with her talent alone. Paoro’s is a band for lovers of borderless genres, so check out tour dates and meditate for a moment with what this artist has recorded to date.
Liz Rowley
Latest posts by Liz Rowley (see all)
- firekid Dazzles New Yorkers With His Metropolitan Mountain Music - September 14, 2015
- Caveman Blows New Yorkers Out Of The Water - July 16, 2015
- Danielle Miraglia Explores The Paradox Of Egotism - May 4, 2015
