Have you ever been sad, and haven’t really been able to pin point, why you were crying into your cheeseburger? Well, Laura Stevenson won’t help you stop crying, but she may help you cry until you are all out of crying juices, and only have the option of sleeping or heading out into the cold, cold world. I say this because Laura Stevenson, better than any artists I have ever heard, can put sadness and turmoil into her voice in many different facets. From an ironic, “I am trying to pretend I am not sad, by laughing, and smiling a lot”, presented in the healthy one, to the true dark section of your mind that she can bring you to with Nervous Rex.
Running a different sound through all of her 4 records, Laura ranges from her punk roots to a country sound that she brought out in The Wheel. Throughout all of these albums, however, she has kept the grit and pain that she is known for. A raw power that isn’t held by many, Laura can be a lot to take in. So I recommend her show, with full caution. The same caution I would offer anyone watching an extremely sad movie, because you will fall in love with Laura, but you will also be able to see all of her faults, her struggles, and her hurt, and you will feel every second of it.
Playing at Barboza on Wednesday, Laura will have a perfectly intimate and dark stage where she can Seattle every bit of her emotions. Opening for Laura is a fittingly named band called Crying. With monotone vocals, punky lyrics, and an emphasis on video games sounds, this band is somewhere between Mariokart, Radiator Hospital, Speedy Ortiz, and TacocaT. Opening the show will be Chris Farren, an artist I am not too familiar with as an individual artist, but his band Antarctigo, one of Jeff Rosenstock’s (Bomb the Music Industry’s) projects, is awesome, and Farren has a fantastically unique voice that seems to have been touched by the Mountain Goats Gods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNG_JZdEw08
So, I guess, what I am trying to tell you, is that if you feel like crying, check out Laura Stevenson on Wednesday, at Barboza. You won’t be disappointed, and if you are, you can listen to Laura Stevenson songs about disappointment.
MARCUS SHRIVER | A Fish Tank Full of Pebbles | KXSU Head Reporter