Like an Onion, Without the Crying
REVELING IN THE ANGST OF LIFE WITH MS. LED
A review of Seattle Center's KEXP Summer Concerts at the Mural by Michelle K., age 17
Ms. Led is a band composed of characters that your mom wouldn’t approve of on first glance. With an intimidating image, the foursome of musicians may purvey a message that doesn’t exactly speak “relatable.” Lesli, the lead singer and talented strummer of a cherry sunburst Les Paul guitar, has short black hair with an elongated dyed piece splaying across her face. Peg, the crazy-good guitarist whom backed up each song with astronomical rifts, managed to sport fire red dreads in pigtails. Steph, with cropped black hair and blondish/grey highlights, mightily banged her drum with not only skill, but passion. And, the surprisingly coiffed Matt, picking his bass, wore a slick black suit with a red tie. I wasn’t sure what to believe of these musicians before they took center stage, so I waited to judge what they had to give the crowd musically. To say the least, their music was not only relatable… it was deep.
Ms. Led at the Mural Amphitheatre, August 23rd, 2008
Originally uploaded by Zee Grega
Seattle Center presented KEXP 90.3 Concerts at The Mural on August 23rd, starring Ms. Led, for one core purpose. Promote and support independent radio and local artists! On the grass devoted fans of Ms. Led sat and many sung every word off her new album, “Shake Yourself Awake” and some oldies off previous albums. Ms. Led’s sound offered some innovations that are hardly experienced in the current music world. Their genre was concrete, and their infusion of harmonious varieties is definitely a rare jewel. Their act was like an onion, without the crying. I had to peel the layers off of their music to hear everything in its simple essence, which when blended made a delightful concoction. There seemed to be influences from metal, latin music, and even pop.
Lesli Wood, the lovely songstress, ripped her vocals to shred with ease by embellishing every word that came out of her mouth in a unique technique. I would not have predicted that her sugar-sweet voice could mesh well with their hard-core sound, however it added to the unexpected yet delightful irony of the show. Wood sometimes employed whispering, she sometimes screamed. It was a little like she was living her emotion while singing; a monotonous tone wasn’t always kept, but whatever was in sync with the emotion of the song. This made the words feel real, not just past recollections. The scintillating lyrics made you want to grab them and eat them they were so delicious, “You’re asking all these questions to sort out my intentions I can’t even sort out myself.” I was literally reveling in the angst of life while listening, but hey: it was okay because we were angsting together.
Michelle K.
August 23rd, 2008
A review of Seattle Center's KEXP Summer Concerts at the Mural by Michelle K., age 17
Ms. Led is a band composed of characters that your mom wouldn’t approve of on first glance. With an intimidating image, the foursome of musicians may purvey a message that doesn’t exactly speak “relatable.” Lesli, the lead singer and talented strummer of a cherry sunburst Les Paul guitar, has short black hair with an elongated dyed piece splaying across her face. Peg, the crazy-good guitarist whom backed up each song with astronomical rifts, managed to sport fire red dreads in pigtails. Steph, with cropped black hair and blondish/grey highlights, mightily banged her drum with not only skill, but passion. And, the surprisingly coiffed Matt, picking his bass, wore a slick black suit with a red tie. I wasn’t sure what to believe of these musicians before they took center stage, so I waited to judge what they had to give the crowd musically. To say the least, their music was not only relatable… it was deep.
Ms. Led at the Mural Amphitheatre, August 23rd, 2008
Originally uploaded by Zee Grega
Seattle Center presented KEXP 90.3 Concerts at The Mural on August 23rd, starring Ms. Led, for one core purpose. Promote and support independent radio and local artists! On the grass devoted fans of Ms. Led sat and many sung every word off her new album, “Shake Yourself Awake” and some oldies off previous albums. Ms. Led’s sound offered some innovations that are hardly experienced in the current music world. Their genre was concrete, and their infusion of harmonious varieties is definitely a rare jewel. Their act was like an onion, without the crying. I had to peel the layers off of their music to hear everything in its simple essence, which when blended made a delightful concoction. There seemed to be influences from metal, latin music, and even pop.
Lesli Wood, the lovely songstress, ripped her vocals to shred with ease by embellishing every word that came out of her mouth in a unique technique. I would not have predicted that her sugar-sweet voice could mesh well with their hard-core sound, however it added to the unexpected yet delightful irony of the show. Wood sometimes employed whispering, she sometimes screamed. It was a little like she was living her emotion while singing; a monotonous tone wasn’t always kept, but whatever was in sync with the emotion of the song. This made the words feel real, not just past recollections. The scintillating lyrics made you want to grab them and eat them they were so delicious, “You’re asking all these questions to sort out my intentions I can’t even sort out myself.” I was literally reveling in the angst of life while listening, but hey: it was okay because we were angsting together.
Michelle K.
August 23rd, 2008
