Leslie Feist’s performance transformed History into something new.
As an internationally respected artist, Feist will find an adoring, attentive audience in most parts of the globe, but her most understanding and mellow (yet no less devoted) fans could be here at home. Blending folk sensibilities with a decidedly punk attitude, she took the world by storm with her debut album Let It Die which featured the title track and the positively-infectious Mushaboom. Following it up with The Reminder, 1234 had its moments as the biggest song in the world in part thanks to both Sesame Street and the iPod. Though these occurrences wouldn’t have happened without being supported by flooring songs such as I Feel It All and Brandy Alexander. While followups Metals and Pleasure didn’t reach the heights of previous albums, Leslie Feist had already created an audience eager for her every word and note.
Multitudes, released this spring, adds love and loss as an influence with the singer/songwriter adopting a baby girl shortly before losing her father, notable abstract painter Harold Feist. Presumably, these emotions were in part the inspiration for the Multitudes performances. Starting with Feist in the middle of the audience as a solo acoustic performance, it redefined the term intimate. With nowhere to hide and surrounded by onlooking fans, there was no unlinking the artist output from that of the audience. Later moving to a full band set onstage, the show is equally dependant on video as well as the music. There is a surprise element to the entirety of the performance that prevents me from reviewing the show in great detail. I’ll just leave it at that and say that if the opportunity arises, watch the whole show either live or online.
Feist is playing a number of Canadian music festivals before taking the show to Europe in August. More info can be found here.