Horse Feathers Tonight in Winooski!

Monkey House Friday, October 5 $6/$9
Horse Feathers Johanna Kunin Farm

The promotions collective at Tick Tick is at it again. Tonight at the Monkey House in Winooski is one heck of a fantastic lineup. I was lucky enough to catch Horse Feathers at the beginning of the summer when they played the opening of the Skinny Pancake. I was thoroughly impressed. Here's an excerpt from my show review: swooning harmonies, dancing banjo, weeping cello, tender lyrics. My previous impression of Iron & Wine still held true, but I couldn't shake the Will Oldham feeling I had (was it the fact that the lead, Peter Broderick, looks a bit like an Elvish Oldham?). To round it out I was reminded of Broderick's other PDX based group, Norflok & Western. Since that time their debut Words Are Dead (Buy Here) has proven to be a staple in my car. I'm excited to see them again now that I'm more familiar with their catalog.

I don't know much about Seattle-based Johanna Kunin. A quick listen gives me a bit of a Tori Amos feel - twisted, beautiful, infectious pop ballads with off kilter (but endearing) harmonies and lyrics. The following comes from Tick Tick's site: Her self-released debut full-length, "Clouds Electric" (Buy Here) came out last August, and since then she has been touring in support, earning high marks from radio stations such as KCRW and being described as an "extraordinarily gifted singer" (Seattle Times). Says Damien Jurado: "Johanna Kunin is a strong force and her confidence really comes through...Her arrangements and melodies are perfect. I would give anything for a sliver of her talents." Regular readers know I'm a sucker for anything Damien Jurado, so that endorsement alone is getting me to the show.

Farm are Vermont's own blues-stoner rock trio. They've been praised plenty on this site, evidenced by this review of their Aug 11th performance opening for the Kamikaze Hearts. At that show the writers of this blog were left with tastes as broad as The Velvet Underground and Warren Zevon. Their third LP Gray Birds (Download Here for $10) was released earlier this season and has found itself settling as my favorite local release of the year.

Horse Feathers Daytrotter Session - August 14, 2007 (includes 4 tracks)

Johanna Kunin on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic - December 8, 2006

Farm on WRUV's Exposure - October 1, 2007

Horse Feathers - Hardwood Pews.mp3
Horse Feathers - Blood on the Snow.mp3