Marissa Nadler, Faces On Film live at Littlefield 7/30/11

It was my first time hearing Boston’s Faces on Film who opened for Marissa Nadler’s latest East Coast Tour. Faces On Film is Mike Fiore who has an extremely unique and beautiful voice for a male singer. It calls to mind a young Neil Young but a bit more silkier, like Jeff Buckley. He played solo using both acoustic and electric guitars. His song writing was great he had very nice subtle hooks and he even did an amazing cover of Clinic’s “Distortions.” I’m not yet to familiar with his catalog but songs that stood out were “Manitoba” and “Knot in the Vine.” You can preview three songs off his new LP Some Weather over at his bandcamp page but I highly recommend picking up his new LP and his 2008 gem The Troubles via iTunes.

Faces on Film - Manitoba (Acoustic) by mikefiore333

Marissa Nadler took the stage wearing a red dress and started right into her solo set. She sounded amazing. Hats off to the soundman who helped project her beautiful sounds perfectly by blending her voice and guitar throughout the room. On her second song, she busted out a 12-string guitar and rocked out “Salutations in the Dark” acoustically. She blithely mentioned in between songs “Brooklyn is the last show on my tour and I still love Brooklyn despite my car being broken into.” “They broke all the windows but didn’t take anything.” Then, she launched into “Your Heart Is A Twisted Vine” off her new EP Rain Arrangement. After this great tune, she gave fans a real treat playing “Fifty Five Falls” the first track off her first album. Marissa switched microphones in this song to one filled with reverb and delay and did a bit of a vocal solo with layered melodies. Mike Fiore of Faces on Film then joined Marissa on stage and played guitar and sang harmonies with her for the latter half of her set and brought a more alt-country vibe to her songs, giving them an interesting nuance. She left the stage after playing “In Your Lair, Bear “ off her new LP. She was quickly convinced to return for and encore by the loud and persistent crowd. She and Fiore played a stripped down version of one of her singles off her new album “The Sun Always Reminds Me Of You.“ Fiore left the stage and Marissa said she would play us one more song; her beautiful cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat.”

For a performer who’s been dealt a lot of trials and tribulations the last year or so, getting dropped from her label named after her song “Mexican Summer,” having her car broken into in Brooklyn, Marissa Nadler has risen above these challenges and has emerged a more seasoned performer and an artist worthy of ever increasing praise and attention.

Marissa Nadler set list 7/30/11

Hyacinth
Salutations in the Dark
Little King
Wind Up Doll
Your Heart Is A Twisted Vine
Fifty Five Falls
Wedding
Puppet Master
In Your Lair, Bear Encore:
The Sun Always Reminds Me Of You
Famous Blue Raincoat (Leonard Cohen Cover)