The Parish hosts an intimate evening tonight, headlined by classical ensemble Balmorhea. After releasing a steady stream of music from 2009's All is Wild, All is Silent through the following year's Candor/Clamor 7", Balmorhea have only a live album to their name for 2011, which means that tonight's one-off show should feature plenty of new material from the sextet. Though they've often been tagged a "minimalist" ensemble, Live at Sint-Elisabethkerk aptly demonstrates Balmorhea's penchant for shocking dynamism; the band know how to put into music the spiritual yawp of yearning. In the live setting, Balmorhea play with all the restrained beauty you hear on vinyl, with an added dimension of visceral power.
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![Balmorhea, Peter and the Wolf & Botany at the Parish [Show Preview]](http://austinist.com/assets_c/2012/01/balmorhea poster-thumb-105x105-687261.jpg)
It’d be nice to say Mellow Owl is a marvelous piece of work signaling a return to big picture viability for today’s somewhat uninspiring folk genre. But, regrettably, a cutesy clever band name does not a savior make, so Peter and the Wolf will have to do as a somewhat-paler parallel to Bowerbirds or Bonnie “Prince” Billy, because where those acts are either, A. musically large and engaging, or B. sensible and wise, Mellow Owl too often suffers from neither, resulting in a thin take on folk that even lovely bouts of classical guitar and earnestness cannot cure. But beyond the album’s general lack of virtuosity, perhaps the number one problem here is too much juvenilia, as mentions of booze and dope happen more often than is appealing, and in contexts far too romantic for this truly to seem like the work of a fully-wrought artist. And while that romance occasionally results in a genuine and captivating vigor, too often the result is a sort of melancholic staggering.
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Results tagged “peterandthewolf”
Balmorhea, Peter and the Wolf & Botany at the Parish [Show Preview]
Peter and the Wolf, Pure Ecstasy, more at the Mohawk
You may know troubadour Red Hunter from his alias Peter and the Wolf, under which he has released thoughtful, engaging folk records for the last few years. You may remember that he switched modes and began recording under the name Mellow Owl, and you may have checked out his MySpace recently and discovered that he appears to be going by the name Peter and ze WolfOwl these days.
Pastiche: House Shows
Between the house party and the club show lies the nebulous House Show, a tricky hybrid that attempts to straddle the world of booking, touring, sound checks and bartenders with your average party, the kind punctuated by loud talk, dark rooms, and limited toilets. At face value, a house show really just requires two things: a band or musician willing to play, and house to host him or her. Even electricity isn't a given, as many acoustic-based, un-miked shows have flourished in Austin living rooms, to be sure
The Morning After: Mellow Owl by Peter and the Wolf
Mellow Owl, released November 14 on Whiskey and Apples Records
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