That Was The Show That Was: A Weather at P.A.'s Lounge

It's rare that we see an act struggle with deficient live sound because it is too quiet. But despite a rough start mapping the shortcomings of the house sound system, A Weather's show at P.A.'s Lounge last night was uplifting, mesmerizing and poignant all at once. The Portland, Ore.-based quintet was touring as a trio using freshly hatched live arrangements situated around guitarist Aaron Gerber and drummer Sarah Winchester's murmured harmonies and Mr. Gerber's finger-picked guitar arpeggiation. Its hour-long set passed without any sense that the band was lacking component parts. If anything, playing as a lean, taut three-piece reigned in the relatively lush arrangements from A Weather's excellent, recently released sophomore record such that the songs were more in line with the sparse, haunting music from its 2008 debut Cove. The new collection Everyday Balloons was released by Team Love March 2 [review here].

The set largely drew from Everyday Balloons, and opened with the song "Giant Stairs." Highlights included the stunning closer "Lay Me Down," which dramatically heaved and sighed as the song collected and dispelled tension. The re-arranged "Midday Moon" was absolutely spine-tingling. The performance featured Ms. Winchester standing behind her spartan drum kit clutching her hands as if in prayer while Gerber and bassist Lou Thomas laced together accompaniment that on the record is solely piano. A Weather also played "Spiders, Snakes," the opening cut from Cove, the Codeine-esque "Seven Blankets" and "Happiness," among other tracks. One beautiful song caught our attention because it was unfamiliar with us, and featured a line something like "if this is going to make me stronger, I'd rather stay weak a little longer." We look forward to discovering what that is.

A Weather's tour continues through April 30; all of the remaining dates are posted below the interview with Gerber we posted here last week. A final word about the show: we think it is safe to say you know you have proverbially arrived in the Boston scene when scene-maker Billy Ruane interrupts your set to offer some comments and make an announcement. Welcome to the scene, A Weather. We very much look forward to seeing you again.

A Weather: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous A Weather Coverage:
Today's Hotness: Calories, William, Lali Puna, A Weather
Be Prepared: A Weather | Everyday Balloons | 2 March
Clicky Clicky Music Blog's Top Albums 2000-2009
Clicky Clicky's Top Albums Of 2008
Review: A Weather | Cove [MP3]