The first time I saw Cranes was during the
‘Forever’ tour. That show was primarily
interesting due to the fact I meet Jim and Alison
Shaw, the songwriting siblings at the center of
the band. The show itself was kind of
disappointing. It was marred by technical
difficulties—at one point the monitors
overheated, effectively causing an unforeseen
intermission. But even worse, Alison suffered
from extreme stage fright, and had to strain to
be heard. All of that was corrected in last
night’s performance. There was only one glitch
at the beginning of the opening version of
‘Cloudless.’ The sound afterwards was really
good—they didn’t bury Shaw’s fragile little girl
lost vocals. And Alison has developed some stage
presence. O.K., she’s not a Natalie Merchant or
Siouxsie Sioux—no patented, trademarked moves—but
she doesn’t hide, either. Dressed in a halter
top and a cottonprint Indian-style skirt, she was
relaxed and looked very comfortable on stage.
While singing—in fine voice, it should be
noted--she had her eyes closed, and did a little
hand-pantomime thing, and in-between songs she
smiled and joshed with the audience. Songs from
all of their cds were covered—“To Be,” “Jewel,”
“Adrift” “Future Song,” “Loved,” and a majestic
“Adoration,” in the twin styles that Cranes
cover—ambient and ethereal folk or looming goth
verging on the industrial. Catch them if you
can.
--Craig

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Book and Music Review Editor, Spoonfed. http://www.spoonfedamerika.com

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