New Buffalo & The Concretes @ Paradise, 10 May

New Buffalo is one of those bands I don't remember finding; I know they're (or she's, apparently) a small-scale Australian thing, but I have no idea how I first found her and I don't think I've ever heard of her in the music press or blogosphere. So I was feeling damn skippy when I found that she was opening for The Concretes at the Paradise yesterday. I felt a bit bad for her--it was the most dead I've ever seen that club, but I guess you don't really expect crowds on a Wednesday night when most of the students are gone. It was an interesting show, though; it seemed pretty clear that most of her work had happened in a recording studio, as she used an iPod for her backing band and seemed oddly unaccustomed to being onstage. Not embarrassed or uncomfortable, just . . . stiff. She could use a band, maybe it'd help her relax and give her some company up there. Her voice is still a treat--virginal without ever being twee--and she's masterful in the real soprano ranges, where most singers would either sharp out or become inaudible. Her EP's got Jens Lekman and Broken Social Scene featuring, which suggests she either has connections or is getting some recognition. Good. Below find the track "Inside" featuring Jens Lekman (as usual, for a limited time and subject to objections).




The Concretes sounded good as a band, but either their sound mix was severely off or their lead needs to work on volume and projecting--I couldn't hear her at all, and for the few minutes I could hear her, she seemed pretty badly flat. A backing band needs a vocalist for a reason: the songs just lacked shape and grab. The band all dresses impeccably Swedish-mod, with the guys' skinny button-down shirts buttoned alllllll the way up, and the frontgirls in boycuts and high-collared artists blouses--do they have a dress code? Twitting aside, though, they seem like they could be cool--I'll have to see if I can find some recorded stuff of theirs. I'm glad I was going for the opener; if I'd gone to see them I'd've been severely disappointed.