Auditorium cooked. The band's detailed art-rock came viscerally alive Saturday at the State Theatre. The music hit the gut and the brain. Frontman Joran Slane (a Creative Loafing staffer) cajoled the 50 or so people in attendance to the front of the stage and then led his six-piece band through a 40-minute performance that was equal parts precision and raw emotion. The big surprise, for me at least, was a guest appearance by saxophonist Seamus O'Dunn of the band The Brentford Sound. His expressive, extended horn solo proved a perfect fit on the Auditorium number "Crazy from the Cold," which played like a frenzied Pink Floyd jam — especially with the giant screen above the stage displaying psychedelic swirls.
Unfortunately, Slane's rock-star turn was the only one of its kind Saturday. There was a palpable rage in his performance, and that likely came as a result of the night's low turnout.
Slane organized the show to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the Southeast Music Alliance, which he helms. The event was well publicized but poorly attended. Maybe a 100 people came in throughout the evening. The State holds about 700.
The eclectic lineup featured several well-known local acts, including Tampa indie-rock favorite Giddy-Up, Helicopter! Attendees were also offered Kraftwerk-inspired electronica courtesy of one-man band Holiday and jangly, lap-steel-enhanced roots-rock from The Human Condition. Before I arrived, there were performances by newly formed experimental jazz duo Legatto Staccato (with Slane on guitar) and singer/songwriter Rebekah Pulley.
I looked forward to seeing Effex's "beatbox/vocal percussion/multivocalism" but he was a no-show. Another cancellation was the reggae band Tribal Style, which had a gig earlier that night in Tampa at Skipper's. The members of Knowing Stu happened to be in attendance and, with borrowed instruments, took the stage in place of Tribal Style. By that point, though, I was already heading home.
Iris DeMent delivered an emotive performance at Tampa Theatre, peppered with pleasant surprises. The crowd hung on her every word and — unlike at most concerts — the new, unrecorded songs elicited some of the strongest audience responses.
Fans have been waiting anxiously for DeMent to release an album of fresh material for more than a decade. Following three critically acclaimed full-lengths on Warner Bros. in the '90s, DeMent experienced a serious songwriting drought that has resulted in only one new original in 11 years — the ballad "He Reached Down," which appears on her 2004 gospel album Lifeline and was played Thursday.
DeMent, who spent most of the evening behind a grand piano, began the show on acoustic guitar with a spirited reading of the title track to her 1996 album, The Way I Should. The eloquent anthem of self-determination proved a potent opening salvo. Backing by a bassist and guitarist Jason Wilber — who opened the concert with a 30-minute solo set — helped propel the rollicking country number. DeMent proceeded to play other familiar, poignant entries from her back catalog like "Let the Mystery Be." The opening track on her 1992 debut disc Infamous Angel, the song makes a measured, sensitive argument for agnosticism.
Having engaged the crowd with songs everyone appeared to know by heart, the singer debuted unreleased material. A brave move that paid off. The most memorable of the new stuff was a touching and humorous song about "mama's truth." DeMent played the number alone on piano after dedicating it to her 89-year-old mother, a woman who raised 14 children. The performance verified that the singer/songwriter has some gems squirreled away. Hopefully, they'll find their way onto a new DeMent album in the near future.
