Friday, February 17, 2006
Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh, PA)
With the Zincs and Emily Rodgers

edith frost. just say it a few times, and you might be able to get a good idea of what her music sounds like.

if you’re getting visions of leather-clad dwarves swinging maces down on hapless gnomes while orcs and wyverns battle beneath the blood red tri-moon, well — you’re fairly off the mark, but it’s understandable. at least, i hope i’m not alone in understanding why it’s understandable, but regardless . . .

this is music that straddles the well-worn wooden bar between the have-nots and the have-another-ones. the word “chanteuse” has been used, and fittingly so – the richness of her deep, enchanting voice helps to convey the half-open-eyed story-moments she allows us to experience – experiences that the listener feels drawn into and an active participant in, for better or for worse. this isn’t music for the eternally hopeless, nor is it meant to buoy your best day — it’s grounded in the type of reality that a million years of prime-time tv lineups will never capture.

sure, in this day of the stadium-sized group cry-alongs and made-for-tv emotional outbursts, it’s kind of easy to question an artist’s sincerety. with frost, though, just heading over to her site and reading around a little bit gives you a real feel for her voice as a person — salt of the earth, ineed. check out her mp3 page while you’re over there for some great music from her career.

after a bit of a hiatus – 4 years as a matter of fact – let’s all hope the accolades ms frost’s drag city return it’s a game has been gathering are enough to convince this amazing songwriter to continue to grace us with her presence.

by the way, she’s also got a nice collection of demos on one of my favorite netlabels, comfortstand. head over here to download it in full for free – this is a great example of an artist whose demos alone are more polished and crafted than most all of the so-called “finished” products trotted out by the big labels.

also, i should mention that opener and pittsbugh native emily rodgers has some very nice streaming versions of songs on her recent release emily rodgers & her majesty’s stars available on her site here. her myspace indicates that she and kevin finn, who she’s recently split an ep with titled in spring alchemy, will be opening for mi and l’au at the garfield artworks on march 8th — the same night as the rob dickinson show at club cafe . . . i might have to pull a cross-town double bill on that one.