My Brightest Diamond preview

My Brightest Diamond
Schubas, Chicago
Friday, November 7, 2008

Led Zeppelin’s burning yen to hit the road without Robert Plant (and with some choda from Alter Bridge) has given us something similar to the DTs: shaking, nausea, gas, seething intolerance for blatant stupidity. However, if Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones absolutely must go all Doors Of The 21st Century on us, Shara Worden wouldn’t be the worst choice.

On tour opening for The Decemberists, My Brightest Diamond’s setlist included a cover of “No Quarter,” which showcased Worden’s unworldly pipes better than anything on their debut, Tear It Down (Asthmatic Kitty). The sounds didn’t beam out of her as much as they emanated light-like, curly-Qing once they got to the rafters with a tactile warmth. Nostalgia might be embellishing that memory after The Decemberists’ academia, but still. Secondly, hiring a woman would go a long way in atoning for Zep’s notorious groupie mistreatment and could gain votes among disaffected Clinton Democrats. Just sayin’.

This year’s A Thousand Shark’s Teeth doesn’t capitalize on her prowess, however. In that sense, opener “Inside A Boy” is a tease, playing like every Radiohead fan’s idealized version of their fave band. Its serpentine riffs drop off the precipice with Worden’s ghostly trill en tow. The rest of *Teeth* plays at cabaret and murky pageantry, bored with rock and fixated on spectral incandescence. Unfortunately, the constant lurking can seem like a Beth Gibbons (“Black And Costaud”) and Bjork (“Apples”) fetish, where she prioritizes mood over songcraft.

Clare & The Reasons open.

— Steve Forstneger

Click here to download “Inside A Boy.” http://www.asthmatickitty.com/mp3/my_brightest_diamond_-_a_thousand_sharks_teeth_-_inside_a_boy.mp3

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly