MUSIC

Monday, May 5, 2008

The Kills

The Kills didn't have a lot to say between songs during their Friday-night set at the Black Cat. Instead, the U.K.-based duo generally let their bodies do the talking.

Guitarist Jamie "Hotel" Hince and vocalist Alison "VV" Mosshart seemingly struck every pose in the Lou Reed/Iggy Pop playbook. Mosshart used the industrial Bo Diddley rhythms of such songs as "No Wow" to moan, cavort and do things with the mike stand that nice girls try only behind closed doors with someone they love. Meanwhile, Hince strutted about the stage, making guitar-as-machine-gun gestures and splattering the audience with bursts of jittery noise.

Just in case the point hadn't been hammered home, a projector displayed myriad images of fashionable self-destruction -- from films of country singer Townes Van Zandt to random '60s psychedelic jam-session footage -- and colored lights made the stage look as if it were about to combust with wild and reckless abandon. But after 60 minutes or so, the shtick had worn thin.

"You can't survive on ice cream," Mosshart sang during the catchy schoolyard stomp of "Cheap and Cheerful," and the band might have been wise to take its own lyrics to heart. Full of good looks and sexy hooks, the duo's performance was not unlike an hour's worth of makeup advertisements: high on style and low on substance. The Kills' intended message might have been "We are thrilling," but a more apt one would have been: "We are exhausting."

-- Aaron Leitko

Chamber Orchestra Of Philadelphia

It was chamber music sweet and lovely, but it put the listener in an opera frame of mind. Such was the revelation of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia's concert at the Library of Congress on Friday evening. This superb and youthful ensemble -- one of the nation's finer chamber groups -- opened a window into conversation and intimacy in Mozart's Piano Concerto in C, while Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony conjured panoramas that presage the mystical worlds of Wagner and other musical pioneers.

Ignat Solzhenitsyn, the ensemble's music director (and, yes, the great Russian author's son), was conductor and soloist in Mozart's gorgeous concerto (K. 467). Solzhenitsyn made piano phrases sing in a vocal manner; filigreed and shapely, each phrase rose and grew naturally. In the opening, a vigorous back-and-forth occurred between a loner (piano) and crowd (ensemble, helped along by some marvelous woodwind solos). The second movement, used in Bo Widerberg's 1967 film "Elvira Madigan," came off as a soliloquy-like aria, and the finale was all light, tension resolved in a joyous ensemble set-piece.

The Beethoven -- blended and resonant -- brought forth images of dark storms and bountiful nature preserves. The technicolor brilliance came from the small ensemble, which allowed for fast tempos and superior detail. Perhaps Wagner gained some of his scene-painting mastery for this music; as a conductor, he banged the drum loudly on Beethoven's behalf. Little wonder, then, that the orchestra's vigorous account signaled latter-day evocative dramas such as the epic "Ring."

-- Daniel Ginsberg

Annapolis Symphony Orchestra

The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, under music director José-Luis Novo, swung for the fences in its closing program of the season over the weekend, taking on four works that included a world premiere, one of the most difficult standard overtures and the massive Mahler Fourth Symphony. The ambition was admirable, and the execution often justified it.

The Smetana "Bartered Bride" Overture is a virtuoso romp for the strings, requiring perfect coordination in every department. Novo set a moderate tempo, trading excitement for security, which in this piece is the better course. But his beat, which is more hopeful than authoritative, could have elicited more accents and phrasing from the winds.

Next was the premiere of "Severn Voyages" by Jacob Bancks. This work, written to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Annapolis's founding, tried to do a lot of things in a short time. It began with growling jungle sounds, then moved on through a mishmash of other atmospherics. The melodic material was often distorted, sort of an "if Alban Berg had met Duke Ellington" pastiche. The young composer is still completing his formal studies, and one looks forward to hearing him find a compelling, original voice to go along with his technical skills.

Mahler's Fourth is one of his shorter symphonies, but it is still a Himalayan challenge for an orchestra. This performance was shaky in spots and missed many details, but the musicians gave it their all. Soprano Audrey Luna fully understood her part, although the voice was a bit heavy for the role.

-- Robert Battey

Kenny Barron Trio

One of the most enjoyable aspects of jazz pianist Kenny Barron's performance at the Kennedy Center Family Theater on Saturday night was also the least surprising. Beginning with "Manha de Carnaval," each of the six trio arrangements began with Barron playing a solo introduction, often in free time and always in a way that underscored the tune's melodic appeal or hinted at harmonic and rhythmic twists to come.

Suffice to say that the veteran pianist knows how to set a mood, and not just when the tune at hand is familiar. Two original pieces -- the sunny, rhythmically engaging "Calypso" and the evocative, Tahitian-inspired reverie "Cook's Bay" -- stopped just short of enticing listeners to rush home and pack their bags.

Freshening a pop or jazz standard, however, is one of Barron's specialties. The trio performances -- as well as the evening's solo piano encore -- found the pianist revealing his gift for thematic improvisation without undue fuss or flourish. His interpretation of "How Deep Is the Ocean" was distinguished by a series of flowing, occasionally surging choruses, while Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" evoked the composer's touch in an unusually soulful and lyrical fashion. The trio performances allowed ample room for bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Francisco Mela to shine, with the latter producing plenty of clatter and rumble when the newly penned "Calypso" was unveiled. But the night's greatest rewards came in hearing Barron stretch out, and he did so often, right down to the deftly reharmonized solo performance of "Memories of You."

-- Mike Joyce

Baltimore Symphony And Choral Arts Society

Marin Alsop, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and the Baltimore Symphony raised the roof Saturday night at the Music Center at Strathmore, with a loud, joyous romp through Carl Orff's fail-safe extravaganza "Carmina Burana." Alsop primed the audience with an amusing talk, playing up the lurid and erotic elements of the program, which began with Samuel Barber's dark "Medea's Dance of Vengeance."

A successful "Carmina" depends on the chorus more than anything, and the Baltimore singers were well trained and mostly solid. The outbursts in "Veni, veni, venias" were lusty but perfectly placed. There were pitch problems in "Chramer, gip die varwe mir," and the reprise of "O Fortuna" was a little underpowered, but overall, the chorus had good focus and diction. Led by baritone Leon Williams, the soloists were excellent. Williams's voice is not huge, but it is burnished and clear from top to bottom, and he brought just the right touch of theatricality. "Dies, nox et omnia" was as beautiful as ever, and the droll "Ego sum abbas" approached performance art. Soprano Maria Kanyova was similarly fine, although one heard some strain in "Dulcissime." Tenor Gordon Gietz actually sang his strangled lines.

Alsop conducted confidently, although the two orchestral interludes were bland, and ensemble problems cropped up in "Tempus est iocundum." Most annoying was the rapid tempo for "O Fortuna," leaving no room for Orff's thrilling kick-start on the final "plangite!"

-- Robert Battey

Newton Faulkner

Three songs into Newton Faulkner's Friday night set at a sold-out Jammin' Java, the question occurs: This guy's 2007 album, "Hand Built by Robots," went to No. 1 on the U.K. charts? The dreadlocked folk-rock troubadour sang pleasant enough songs about peace, love and understanding, as well as UFOs, but ultimately the 23-year-old was about as exciting as his outfit -- simply a rumpled T-shirt and jeans.

Perhaps that's too harsh a criticism for the likable Faulkner, but still: No. 1?

Faulkner's hook is his guitar playing. He uses every inch of his acoustic guitar, front and back, to make sounds as he sings. He simultaneously strums, plucks, taps and raps the soundboard, the fretboard and the strings, in effect accompanying himself on percussion as he plays the melody on the strings. He even slides the capo (the pitch-changing clamp) on the guitar neck to get an interesting new texture during songs.

It's interesting to watch, but the novelty lasts only so long. Then again, you can't see his playing technique on a CD, so the success of his record must be from the songs. "Feels Like Home," "Straight Towards the Sun," "She's Got the Time," "To the Light" and his hit single, "Dream Catch Me," were charming and clever, but they were outshone by his two energetic covers, Massive Attack's "Teardrop" and Dead or Alive's '80s anthem "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)."

If Faulkner was cute -- and that is the word for his act -- cuter still was the opening singer, L.A.'s Jessie Baylin. She coolly and confidently sang her pop-folk numbers, wisely staying within the limits of her voice.

-- Buzz McClain

Flo Rida

It's a special kind of rapper who can take off his shirt yet keep his performance from devolving into a Chippendales show. LL Cool J is that kind of rapper. 50 Cent is that kind of rapper.

Dade County's own Flo Rida, however, is not.

At Love on Friday night, the crowd completely stopped paying attention to what came out of Flo Rida's mouth once he came out of his clothes -- not surprising, considering his physique is considerably more muscular than his rhymes.

Early into the set, between the party track "In the Ayer" and the more hardcore "American Superstar" (both from Flo Rida's debut, "Mail on Sunday"), the rapper decided to strip off his tank top and douse his bare chest with liquor. After that, it became hard to concentrate on Flo's rhymes, or hear them over the screams, but it sounded as if he went on to perform "Roll," "Priceless," "Ack Like You Know" and various other tracks containing claims of his wealth, fame and overall greatness.

The crowd regained interest in Flo's music when he performed "Low," his chart-topping, T-Pain-assisted tribute to women who wear either fur-lined boots or Reeboks and like to drop down low on the dance floor.

Although Love's dress code doesn't allow for sneakers and it is way too hot outside to wear fur-trimmed anything, Flo filled the stage with "sexy ladies" wearing other kinds of footwear, showing that he seems to have a way with women, even if not with words.

-- Sarah Godfrey