Bill Callahan has taken a long time to get here. In fact, you could argue that the sandy-haired musician—known for his literate, brooding brand of lo-fi—has really just arrived, having spent the past near 20 years releasing albums under the name Smog. Now, in his 40s, the singer is embracing his given name—along with a brand of pop that is a bit more upbeat and orchestrated. Even so, Callahan holds his Smog roots close—as his stunning performance last night at Johnny Brenda’s made clear.
Nearly 250 people packed into the venue, as Callahan crooned and strummed his way through an hour-plus set of new material and old standbys. Joined by a 4-piece back-up band (a guitarist, violinist, cellist and drummer), the sound was intimate and full, and as Callahan stood motionless, allowing only his eyes to crumple in pain as he recollected tiny details and memories, the audience remained transfixed.
The singer barely spoke, avoiding eye contact and emitting a wry warble into the mic. He kicked things off with “Our anniversary” off 2003’s Supper, followed by tracks from 2007’s Woke on a Whaleheart (Callahan’s first album as BC) and a rousing performance of 1999’s “Cold blooded old times,” the jaunty single for which he is probably best known.
For a stoic performer, Callahan certainly knows how to create mood, and as he strummed the closing notes to “The breeze/My baby cries,” a heart-breaking rendition of the Kath Bloom jam, the venue was silent except for a few unabashed sniffles. “That was so sad!” whispered my friend Lauren to me as we gazed up affected. I nodded in agreement.
The second half of the set picked up speed a bit, with a couple of songs off the recently released Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, for which Callahan won Pitchfork’s Best New Music kudos just last April. Tracks like "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" (supposedly lyrics that Callahan wrote down in the middle of the night and couldn’t understand the next morning) bounced and clanged along, while "All thoughts are prey to some beast" married Eastern strings with rolling beats.
For his encore, Callahan chose “In the pines” and “Let me see the colts” off 2005’s A River Ain’t Too Much to Love. Once again, the beautiful melodies, performed with grace and precision, had the crowd mesmerized, and when it was over, it felt like it had just begun. It’s easy to get lost in Bill Callahan.
Brooklyn trio Lights opened the show, offering a short set of spacey, psychedelic concoctions. Fronted by dual lead vocalists Sophia Knapp and Linnea Vedder (think Stevie Nix meets Abba), the group’s trippy jams were one part kitsch, one part psych-rock, one part new-wave and all parts party. Live, the band was energetic and engaging…but perhaps not the best choice to precede Callahan. (Both acts are on Drag City, which probably explains the pairing.) I’d rather see Lights at the Barbary or Making Time…somebody should get on that!
