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CARLA BOZULICH
October 15, 2003 Austin, Texas -
Where does one even begin to describe the anticipation and joy of
experiencing Carla live? The first thing I noticed upon
entering Emo's was Nels Cline drinking at the bar. It was
sometime later when Carla made her entrance - quietly and calmly
cutting through the crowd to check out the merchandise stand.
Before long, Nels was onstage and beginning his audio assault on the
crowd gathered around the stage.
After time to gain my bearings, meet up with some housemates, Nels
took the stage with his guitar, whisk and assortment of toys, pedals
and buttons that produces his unique sounds. Piling layers of
noise and chords onto each other, and looping them back, I couldn't
help but feel Nels created an entirely personal language with tools
he's developed. With painful intermissions of loud noise
balanced by melodic and funny moments, there was a feeling of being
placed in some spacey 50's sci-fi monster movie as the tunes rolled
by. The set just reinforced the merits of pushing ahead and
having faith to do it.
After a brief interlude, Nels took the
stage again, joined by a newly assembled group of musicians and of
course, Carla Bozulich. Now the preachin' is over, and the
lesson's begun. A broken guitar string allowed the discordant
opening to rise to a fevered pitch, vioin, stand up bass and Nels'
steel-less guitar set the stage for the Red Headed Stranger to
blossom. as soon as Carla started singing, her deep, raspy
voice stunned the newcomers in attendance and just delighted all her
fans. As familiar as I am from listening to her records for
over a decade, the hair on my arms stood at attention.
The band masterfully blended, with Carla's
voice carrying the day. She would later apologize for blowing
out her voice a few days ago, but promised not to hold anything
back. She didn't and ran through Willie's Red Headed Stranger
album with aplomb and deeply felt intensity that rifled through
Emo's.
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I'm drownded
in sorrow, I'm drownded in scorn.
I knew I'd end this way since the day I was born.
I never learnt nothing 'cept hunger and fear.
And the love that you gave me was lies to keep me near.
In a field of
new grass you first lay me down.
I met you there daily just outside of town.
A fool I have lived and a fool I will die,
But you'll go to the devil for making me cry.
'Outside of Town', Geraldine Fibbers |
After removing the rest of the band
members, Nels and Carla were left to sing 'Times Square', and at
the conclusion of this stunning song, Carla could hardly hold in
her delight and giggled, laughed and smiled throughout the dour
set of songs left in her bag. The crowd didn't care, nor
were they in a different mindset. Everyone loves a good
tale of love lost, scorned lovers and burnt bridges.
Carla dusted off some old, not so
standards for the second half of the set, setting it into motion
with a slinky, sexed up and slowed down version of Ethyl Meatplow's
Ripened Peach. Marmalade, Outside of Town and Lilybelle all
followed, harkening back the all too brief shining moments of the
Geraldine Fibbers.
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The show was amazing, topped off with
an encore including 'Hands on the Wheel' and 'Butch'.
Unfortunately, it was 5 till 2, and the show had to end, but it
seemed like even the ailing Carla didn't want it to.
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I looked to
the stars, tried all of the bars.
An' I've nearly gone up in smoke.
Now my hand's on the wheel, I've something that's real,
An' I feel like I'm goin' home.
'Hands on the Wheel' - Willie Nelson |
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