Feist
Oct 10, 2011
Leslie Feist is an artist with many musical personalities, all brought together via her playful creativity and expressive voice. Hailing from the Calgary area in Canada, Feist started her musical journey with a high school punk band that she was with for close to five years called Placebo: she had serious problems with her voice after leaving that band and moved to Toronto to get medical treatment. While there Feist taught herself to play guitar and became part of the creative music renaissance taking place there.
She next served as the guitarist for the band By Divine Right and became an active member of the loose musical collective known as Broken Social Scene. Somewhere in the middle of all of this, Feist also began a solo career, recording and releasing her debut indie album in 1999. Next to come was Let It Die, which was recorded throughout 2002 and 2003 and released 2004. Her career really took off with the release of 2007's The Reminder, which sold over 750,000 copies and was nominated for four Grammys.
Whereas her previous efforts have been collaborative, her newest album, Metals, is more personal and intimate. While she does bring in the talents of Chilly Gonzalez, Mocky, Valgeir Sigurossen and others, this is clearly an expression of Feist and her own unique vision.
In the studio she searched for what she describes as a "modern ancient" sound, with natural keyboards, strings, horns and richly tailored vocal harmonies but also stretching to the other side with edginess and emotion. The result is something left of center, eclectic and totally engaging.
"There's a lot more chaos and movement and noise than I've had before," she said. "I allowed for mistakes more than I ever have ... it was about un-simplifying things.
In addition to the leadoff track, "How Come You Never Go There," several tracks stand out including "The Bad in Each Other," "Caught in the Wind," "The Circle Married the Line," "Bittersweet Melodies" and "Get It Wrong Get It Right."
After some sold-out tour dates in Europe, Feist returns to North America:
- 11/02 Howard Gilman Opera House, New York
- 11/04 Riviera Theatre, Chicago,
- 11/06 The Tabernacle, Atlanta
- 11/08 Majestic Theatre, Dallas
- 11/12 The Wiltern, Los Angeles
- 11/14 The Warfield, San Francisco
- 11/16 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR
- 11/17 The Moore Theatre, Seattle
- 11/18 The Centre In Vancouver For Performing Arts, Vancouver, BC
- 11/20 Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton, AB
- 11/21 Jack Singer Concert Hall, Calgary, AB
- 12/1 Massey Hall, Toronto, ON
- 12/3 Métropolis, Montreal, QC
- 12/5 National Arts Centre, Ottawa, ON
- 12/6 Grand Théâtre de Québec, Quebec, QC
For more information and to see some cool videos, visit www.listentofeist.com.
