Show Review – O Paon / Earth at the Middle East (06.14.11)

Tonight’s show at the Middle East brought together one Canadian songstress and one notorious drone band from US (as well as a hockey game which pitted Bruins against Canucks).
O Paon is a project of Genevieve Castree who was born in Canada, but currently resides in Pacific Northwest. As she explained in in-between stage banter, she loves writing repetitive songs because she likes to have a focus in a world full of distractions. And that pretty much sums up her style – low-key / minimalistic folk with lyrics sung entirely in French (with ghost voices floating in the background).
Not bad – in fact, it was one of the best openers that I saw in some time. It certainly made for a nice addition to Earth’s sound – this melancholic folk music.
Earth’s setlist included songs from “Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Lights Pt 1”, their  upcoming album and “The Bees Made Honey In The Lion Skull”. It was probably the least energetic concert on my memory, but then again – it wasn’t supposed to be a typical rock show, as the band’s focus is on atmosphere and mood – not beats.
(One of the conversations in the background during their show revealed that people are comparing Earth’s music to Neil Young’s soundtrack to “Dead Man”, which is quite fair to me).
I’m having a hard time choosing between the opener and the headline act in this case, since I think that both were great – each in its own way.
P.S.
And guess what? Bruins won – not that I care too much about sports, but there was no was no way to ignore the fact during this evening.