Low 11/10/2005: Sacred Heart Music Center, Duluth, MN

On December 10, 2005, Low performed a Christmas concert in the Sacred Heart Music Center in Duluth, Minnesota, for a church full of appreciative music go-ers, to benefit the Maasai School Project in Kenya.

Out of a perfectly satisfying seventeen song set, Low performed only one up-tempo song, “It Was Just Like Christmas.” Why are they so dark? What influences determine their exquisite low-ness? It may be the fact that they are based in a perpetually overcast city, next to a cold, gray lake. It could it be the time of year, when daylight hours are abruptly replaced by longer nights. Or, perhaps their darkness can be attributed to Alan’s personal influence on the band.

There was an open letter posted on the internet this year, in which Alan apologized for missing some gigs and said he must take time off to work on emotional issues. He is in highly creative company, as emotional difficulties are almost a prerequisite to having the kind of talent it takes to shape our musical culture. Even while hoping Alan is feeling better now, my evil twin is wishing that he never stops being low. Low are Mimi Parker, drums and vocals; Matt Livingston, bass; and Alan Sparhawk, guitar and vocals, but this night they were joined by several other musicians, as well as a small choir. The opening act, if thousands, set the mood by playing an eerie, unmelodious, progression of overlapping chords in complete darkness, while a Peanuts cartoon was projected on the arched ceiling high above them.

Low opened with a set of familiar Christmas songs including “Little Drummer Boy” and “Blue Christmas,” in addition to their own “Every Knee” and “Just Like Christmas.” Then came a long set of their signature dark songs, “Lazy,” “Monkey,” “(That’s How You Sing) Amazing Grace,” “Pissing,” “In the Drugs,” and “Murderer.” Their next song was a delightfully frightening song about “Santa Coming Over,” which would have done Alice Cooper proud, followed by “Taking Down the Tree,” “If You Were Born Today,” “Take the Long Way Around the Sea,” and finally, the universally beloved “So This Is Christmas.”

The band was beckoned back to the stage by a standing ovation to perform “Dragonfly” and “Don’t Carry It All.” Alan and Mimi’s duets deliver a riveting sound that’s impossible to drift away from. Hearing them perform is an entirely intellectual experience, one in which your head, rather than your gut, is directed toward absorbing their sound, much like a classical music experience. Their elegant and elongated notes have the precision of a scalpel, cutting into and exposing nerves that stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain. They often sing the same words, the same notes, at precisely the same time and in the same octave, though their voices are distinctly male and female. The result is a captivating blend of synergy and contrast. Low’s sound is like the dark underbelly of folk, which is why they are popular with goths and folkies alike, and with people like me, who just think it’s good to be low.

After the conclusion, the audience drifted out of the former cathedral into the dark night where snow was slowly falling. What was I saying about influences?

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