bella noir | laura’s boots, originally uploaded by iamtheeric.
on wednesday night i went out to see bella noir at pianos. i’ve seen laura, wilneida, gary and ruben perform several times over the past year or so, and a few things really stick out to me:
1. laura continues to impress me with her bass playing and musicianship in general. she holds it down better than any other bass player i know–her lines are creative and melodic, but also very supportive.
2. ruben is awesome. he’s just a great drummer, and he handles that sampler pad like a pro. he and laura really lock it in like a rhythm section should.
3. gary is from space. or at least, his guitar playing is from space. definitely a guitarist of the wizard variety. so many pedals and foot switches, that i wouldn’t be surprised if gary was a cyborg. when he nails it (like on “try” or “stand closer”), he really nails it.
4. wil has a great voice. it’s unique and cannot be described by the following adjectives: yelly, screamy, yelpy, boisterous. it can, however, be thought of as warm, full, melodic, pleasant. she and laura sound excellent together when harmonizing.
you can listen to bella noir here: http://www.myspace.com/bellanoirmusic
more photos from the show here
