Jay Malinowski w/ Michael Rault & Kinnie Starr

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Pawnshop

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Walking into the Pawnshop I noticed that things weren’t entirely unusual from headliner Jay Malinowski’s other project’s show: hipsters with scarves, men with baggy toques and gaggles of swooning girls skirting the stage.� Yet, knowing Malinowski’s solo material – and how utterly dissimilar to Bedouin Soundclash it is - I didn’t know how this crowd would translate his latest, saddest sound.�

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Local Michael Rault opened in a musical environment so unlike his music.� What you might expect in a blues club down the avenue, Rault made you think of overly-smoky taverns and whiskey-soaked melodies.� Rault had to be extremely economical with his time and his to-the-point set created a great vibe for Malinowski.� Malinowski was not next, unfortunately.�

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In what must be one of the most awkward stage/audience encounters I’ve ever witnessed, Kinnie Starr crept onto the stage. I remember seeing Starr years ago, so I’m aware that she’s been doing this for a while, however, the way she nearly asked the audience for permission to perform wasn’t too inspiring.� As she jilted through her set, Starr knee-jerked between a form of spoken-word, hip-hop and some odd form of riot girl rock.� The crowd was not prepared for a sexual education lesson, but Starr delivered one as she gracelessly stumbled through a song which was meant to ‘educate’ men and empower women about the inadequacies of how men make love.� Showing an uncomfortable appreciation of the ankle, Starr whined about the importance of kissing the full female body before moving “downtown”.�� I don’t know why she included this song – or ever wrote it – but she seems to have a knack for picking particularly selfish partners.� By the end of her set, it was the end of her set, so that was nice.

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Without cheer, Malinowski began his set by attempting falsetto between reminders of his rough voice, while draining the energy via accordion on ‘Skull & Bones’.� It was actually a great introduction to a uniquely somber Sunday night, but absolutely nothing like some might have expected.� As he worked his way through the entirety of ‘Bright Lights and Bruises’ an eerie silence between songs was ever present.� I guess the audience, so used to Malinowski hosting a summertime party, didn’t really know what to do or how to act or how to really clap.� I guess considering how gloomy ‘Bright Lights and Bruises’ is, it’s pretty difficult to ‘cheer on’ a pretty heartbreaking time.� Standout tracks ‘Life is a Gun’ and ‘Remembrance Day’ showed a desperate, emotional side of Malinowski that doesn’t seem to have a place in a Bedouin set.� Malinowski’s signature croaky voice and well-structured songs made the set impressive, however, at times it seemed like he couldn’t wait to get back to the rock star gig.�

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