Thursday, October 08, 2009
Linda Perhacs made her debut performance of the brilliant recording of Parallograms last night at REDCAT. If Perhacs were just some 20-something buzz indie folk artist promoting her hot new album that statement wouldn't probably be such a big deal, but Perhacs is no longer in her 20's and Parallelograms is 40 years old. And that's perhaps why a capacity crowd came out to celebrate a woman who wrote an album that is helping to define a new generation of music in Los Angeles.
The night began with Perhacs discussing everything from stories of her dental patients to philosophies of music, color, and shapes. It seemed necessary to introduce herself since for the last few decades she's been hiding in the Valley working as a dental hygienist while the so-called New Weird America generation was discovering her music. The sweetness of her demeanor and just the gentle way she spoke set a calmness in the room that would last the entire night. It also made us want to switch dentists.
It's difficult to single out any one performance as every artist brought something new and surprising to the stage, but let's face it, we all came to see Ms. Perhacs show off that pretty voice of hers. We also have to mention that We Are the World's version of "Moons and Cattails" (and Nicole McDonald's visuals) made 300 jaws drop. Other highlights included Hecuba's haunting version of "Hey Who Really Cares?" with companion visualizations; Blank Blue and Mia Doi Todd joining forces for a version of "Sandy Toes"; and LA Ladies Choir's beautiful rendition of "Parallelograms."
Huge raves must be given out to Dublab (who are celebrating 10 years of awesomeness this week) for the organization and execution of this event. It was, by far, one of the most beautiful tribute nights we've ever seen. And a proud declaration that indeed Los Angeles loves Linda Perhacs.
Linda Perhacs on MySpace.
Parallelograms available now through Sunbeam Records and CD Baby.
Linda Perhacs - "Parallelograms" (MP3) Limited time download
