Went to see Charalambadies at Cafe Oto on Saturday night...
I didn't catch the first two supports but Mick Flower was there, sitting start then growing to his full height as he spins solo guitar magic, fingers fixing shimmering wavering lines over a box of drone and click...
(I find it really interesting how it's possible to watch two different people do essentially the same thing but the end result be SO different... some people just have some inate magic deep within them that radiates out when they play, Mick Flower is one of those).
Charalambides sat on the stage, across from one another...
Started off with Tom playing sparse deep luscious chords under Christina's voice, what a voice... I loved her words, and the way she sang them her voice is so pure...
"I want to use my voice for good, however small my voice, however small the good..."
Then she'd pick up her telecaster and get more meaning out of a few chords on it that most people could ever do, while Tom attacks his guitar overdriven, hunched over it...
I wasn't going to write much about this gig because some things are just so good that it feels like there is no POINT in trying to convey that...
It was the kind of set that makes you feel really glad to be alive.
I felt really overwhelmed at several points, my heart aching and ready to burst.
The first time I saw them was at Terrastock 6, I was jet-lagged and laying down on a cold floor as they played, a cool breeze floating over me as I inhabited the world of half sleep, their sounds weaving in and pulling all kinds of dreams out into reality.
Tom and Christina both played solo sets the following night at Oto, sadly I couldn't go but I bet it was amazing.
I was lucky enough to see TC play a solo set in a tiny record store in Greenpoint in 2009 and he played guitar through a bunch of awesome FX and a cigarette pack amp, it was awesome!
If anyone has a recording of the Oto set I'd love to hear it!
