A Stunning First Look at the Last Town Chorus

Megan Hickey is a performer that makes you take notice. Her band, the Last Town Chorus, came to Iota Saturday as an opening act, supporting an album that's currently available only as an import.

But Hickey's majestic voice and fiery lap steel guitar-playing captivated the crowd from the onset, and she held the audience in rapt attention for the group's 35 minutes onstage.

The majority of the set consisted of songs from "Wire Waltz," the Brooklyn group's second album, due out next month after seeing an October release in Britain. On record, songs such as "You" and "It's Not Over" are soothing mood pieces, Sunday morning music that goes down easy without leaving too much of a lasting impression. On this Saturday night, though, those same songs roared to life.

The distorted, reverb-drenched wail of Hickey's lap steel filled the Arlington club, resulting in an almost shockingly loud performance given her simple acoustic guitar and keyboard accompaniment.

Her voice often soared, and other times cut the difference between Maria McKee and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval.

It was sometimes breathy, sometimes twangy, and it didn't much matter what she was singing about, just that she was singing at all.

The evening's centerpiece was a cover of David Bowie's "Modern Love" that was featured recently on TV's biggest current hitmaker, "Grey's Anatomy." (You had a good run, "The O.C.") Turning one of Bowie's most playful, bouncy tunes into a mournful lament may seem questionable on paper, but as with everything else on this night, Hickey pulled it off convincingly.

-- David Malitz