the big takeover

fez concert review

by jack rabid
may, 2005 (issue #56)

Trashcan Sinatras - live at Fez, December 4, 2004

It seems odd to review a show when the band has already released a live LP from it, only three months later (coincidentally commemorating this valuable cabaret right as it closed in March 2005, immortalizing its red-curtained intimate trashed-elegance in a series of photos in the inner sleeve—Fez, R.I.P, it was a great 10 years). But for those who haven’t bought or heard it—and you should—this show was so good, no one could want to blame them for sharing it with far more than the 200 or so packed in that night. Looking relaxed and clearly enjoying the atmosphere of X-mas season New York, Scotland’s Trash Cans were in the perfect environment and temperament for an acoustic show that spotlighted their unreal three-part harmonies and exquisite songs. Playing three such acoustic guitars, and backed by just a tasteful bit of bongos from Stephen Douglas, their music has never felt so serene and silver-tipped, as if a light snowfall was cascading down through the basement windows from the streets outside. (Had they played their ultimate heartbreaker, "Snow," the feeling would have been complete.) Whether something playful like "Twisted and Bent" or hushed and involving like "What Women Do to Men," the firm of Reader, Douglas, & Livingston (Frank, John, and Paul) laid down the law on how to blend three soft, pretty voices and keep every mouth in the joint shut for an hour. Having seen so many of their concerts over 15 years, this stripped-down one was the best, the stillness and calm of the presentation feeling like a good, cheerful belt of holiday punch. And upon leaving, one didn’t feel the cold at all going down East 3rd Street. Without Bottom Line and now Fez, we may lost that sort of feeling in New York forever (the OK, but a tad too spiffy Joe’s Pub will have to do), but you can tell it will carry these great Scots for as long as their partnership remains.

Originally appeared in the Big Takeover