Live at St. Paul's Turf Club, Meg Remy and her band certainly do break a sweat, but for the better. U.S. Girls' recent albums were made for dancing like it's the end of the world and their show exemplified this.
Meg Remy and her music dominated my 2018. Her latest album, In a Poem Unlimited, was my favorite album of last year and for good reason. You can read my review of it here. It's polarizing political pop at its finest, containing a blend of different genres with her biggest collaborative effort to date. Containing 20+ musicians in the mix, her album continued the expansion of a solo project to a project of togetherness and musicianship that 2015's Half Free started. There's fierceness and fiery energy in her delivery that I still cannot get enough of. Finally, a year and a half after the album's release, I saw the band live. At St. Paul's Turf Club, Meg Remy and her band certainly do break a sweat, but for the better. Remy's music is made for these small, compact venues, making her songs resonate really well with the audience. They evoke senses of darkness, being able to dance freely without the care that anyone's judging.
Remy's current backing band, the psych jazz outfit known as The Cosmic Range, brought that same visceral energy live as they did on record. The songs from the set were made up of the highlights from Poem and a couple of the best tracks from Half Free. Seeing them play the protest anthem "M.A.H." and the dark sexual comedy of "Pearly Gates" certainly brought the same menacing vibes you get from the lyrics. "Navy and Cream," a Half Free highlight, is the beautiful ballad that is just as stunning as on stage. "Incidental Boogie" is still as loud and abrasive as it is on my headphones. The best parts of their live performance has to be Remy's presence as a performer and vocalist. She takes the stage with her captivating voice as well as her dance moves. The band just knows how to have fun and they certainly take this into account. The eight piece consist of everything: bongos, saxophone, guitar, bass, drums, keys, lots of backup singing. The Cosmic Range love to riff and jam out, taking aim at the true fun of jamming until the party's over. They love to dance and aren't afraid to show it. Near the end of the show, Remy even dances within the crowd and has an audience member come up to the stage and dance too.
Being noted by several publications as being one of the best live acts of 2018, U.S. Girls do deserve the praise. Seeing their energy in person is unlike any live performance I've ever seen. On record, it's pretty damn amazing and seeing them perform these songs is priceless.
U.S. Girls' recent albums were made for dancing through these terrible times, dancing like it's the end of the world, and their show exemplified this. After the show, I was lucky to meet up with Meg at the merch table. We chatted for a few minutes. I thanked her for such an incredible show and how much I loved the albums. She said that their van broke down and they barely made it to the show, which is nerve racking to think about. She did mention that they will be back in February, which I am stoked about. She has such a warm, happy presence, seeming grateful to be making music and having such devoted fans. It makes me so happy to know how lovely of an individual Meg is. With Remy's music being a big part of my life for a year and a half, meeting her was so surreal. It's hard to put into words, really. Poem was such a breakout record for the band and I hope everything for the best for them. See you in February!
Comments