Photos/Review: Nouvelle Vague with Clare & the Reasons at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, IL; 1.29.10
words and photos by Kirstie Shanley
please scroll down for photo galleries
In this strange and expansive world, we’re all influenced by each other, making it increasingly difficult to establish a different sort of identity. There are some for whom this very idea wreaks internal havoc while others embrace it. Clearly, Nouvelle Vague chooses the latter option. For all intensive purposes, they also celebrate the sort of concept that it’s who you know and like music-wise that is important. Undoubtedly, these would be the guys at a party that know every important song released within the last three decades and while their references and choice of songs aren’t very obscure, they all seem to contain the essence of our best shared experiences over the years.
Nouvelle Vague just released their third album of covers last year (entitled 3) and this tour marks the return of the band to the states after a rather long hiatus. While the collective is made up of leaders Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux as the ones who make the arrangements, it is definitely the seductive voices and presence of the cast of female singers who give the band a stage presence. This tour was lucky to have the accompaniment of Helena Noguerra and Karina Zeviani who did well to bring life to the songs. Standing at the very front of the stage unencumbered by any instruments of their own (aside from an occasional kazoo), they made singing those songs look as effortless and rewarding as if they were the original creators of them. They also demonstrated a vocal range that adeptly made them worthy of singing the songs in the first place. In addition, the female vocals in exchange for often originally recorded male ones serve to make the songs sweet and sultry as well as complete the bossa nova effect.
Possessing such strong elements of both grace and chic, it was stunning to see Noguerra and Zeviani dance around on their own and with eachother, sometimes alternating to take turns singing the main parts and at other times singing in a glorious unison. It was obvious there was a great on stage chemistry between them and they weren’t afraid to get into the audience, even Zeviani writhing on the audience floor during their cover of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” originally by Bauhaus. They also weren’t weary of climbing up on amps or getting close to their audience, creating the impression of a lovable sort of spectacle.
In contrast, the four male musicians behind them playing guitar, keyboard, drums, and stand up bass stayed towards the back of the stage ensuring their 90 minute long set stayed as tight as it was vivid. They drew from some of their best covers, including “God Save the Queen” by Sex Pistols, “Guns of Brixton” by The Clash, XTC’s “Making Plans for Nigel,” Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” The Cure’s “A Forest” and “Road to Nowhere” by Talking Heads. At the end of the night, there was an exciting sense of fulfillment amongst the sold out crowd to be able to hear and sing along to songs whose words they knew by heart.
Clare &The Reasons, the project of Clare Muldaur proved an enchanting opener for Nouvelle Vague. Splitting up the drums between herself and two male musicians to the sides of her, they each played a little percussion while Muldaur played guitar. The “Reasons” also helped make some of the songs more interesting with singing saw, violin, and occasional brass instruments. Muldaur has changed her stage presence dramatically from the time of her previous tour where she dressed completely in bright red. This time, she decorated the stage with strands of white reeds all along the microphones to add an enticing visual effect. She also engaged in a little bit of banter between her songs, adding a notion of a charm to her sense of personality. The band is touring on their second release, 2009’s Arrow and provided a sense of lovely indie pop and folk overall across their 45 minute long set.
