Feist Entertainment Art Ravinia Highland Park, Ill. July 14, 2008

Feist, the Canadian—by-way-of Nova Scotia—singer has been the sultry songstress of choice for artists ranging from crass-electro-princess Peaches to the ambient-rockers Broken Social Scene. She was a key member when Broken Social Scene quickly became the fodder of indie circles with their album You Forgot It In People in 2002 and by 2004 Feist was leaving the group to release her second album, Let It Die.

Let It Die made an impact with covers of Ron Sexsmith’s “Secret Heart” and the Bee Gee’s “Inside and Out” and original songs like “Mushaboom”, “Gatekeeper” and “Let It Die”, but it was her third album—The Reminder—that brought her into the deep pop mainstream. The single “My Man My Moon” heartily chugs about and the ridiculously popular “1-2-3-4” bounces playfully on the album. Much of the latter song’s success is due to in part to the crafty advertising for the dominant and alluring Apple Corporation in regards to their amazing iPod (Mr. Jobs, if you are reading this review that was in no way a blatant plug for your wonderful products done in hopes of receiving a new MacBook Pro…or was it?). And, regardless of that little push by Apple, the song holds its own weight on the album and with crowds.

And the weight it held at her recent Ravinia Park show, which featured plenty of thoughtful music, artsy screen projections and a brief—sadly—performance by Argentina’s Juana Molina.

Molina’s half-hour opening act showing, illustrated only a mere glimpse of her talent, vocally and instrumentally. During her time on stage she sang melodically and looped and sampled, not only her voice but, also the plucking of her guitar strings and tones from her keyboard, intently. Molina can easily be compared to a few other songstresses, but comparisons do Molina insufficient justice. And her ability to bend notes with peddle delays is special to her performance. At times, during her four song set, it was difficult to know when Molina was actually singing or playing her instruments, with all the looping and delays she was working with, but that, along with her voice and manipulation of it, is equal parts her charm.

After a brief intermission—that involved the standard breakdown of the previous musicians equipment and set-up of the following musicians equipment—it was apparent that Feist was to put on a not only a musical show, but an artistic one as well. There was a large white back-drop (that would be used for projected images throughout the show) and a tall white screen that silhouetted Feist and her guitar at the beginning of her show—and for her encore. It was often difficult to pay attention to just one thing on stage—Feist herself, or the many projections that were shown on the huge screen. Distractions aside the show was solid and the projections themselves—if that’s all you paid attention to—told stories that were narrated by the lyrics.

“Inside and Out” was particularly synchronized with the on-screen show, with the final word and note causing the candle on the screen to burn out (check out the lyrics and you’ll get the idea). And “Mushaboom” was illustrated as a progression of life ending with an idyllic house—complete with a garden—on a bright sunny day. The entirety of the show was a balanced meld of “Let It Die” and “The Reminder” and both albums provided three complete crowd pleasers; “Mushaboom”, “Gatekeeper” and “Inside and Out” from “Let It Die” and “Sealion”, “I Feel It All” and “1-2-3-4” from The Reminder.

“I Feel It All” and “Sealion” pulsed a memorable groove, one that made most nod their heads to the song, but, it was “1-2-3-4” that made the crowd jubilant. Being the headliner Feist took that title and entertained in a lounge manner to an open air venue, and it oddly worked—and well for that matter. Feist did not falter in her individual performance and her screen projections were fun to watch and meaningful, but, when thought of as a whole, it was not as fluid as it could have been. In terms of a complete night, Molina and Feist poured their musical beings into their performances and the crowd was more than lucky to witness it.

And as the night wore on, and Feist sang her final song, and she uttered in her wounded voice with her slightly Canadian accent the last few words to “Let It Die”, she did wonders for the souls of the audience and oh, Canada, friendly neighbor to the north, were we ever grateful for the gift you gave us that night. Oh, Canada, friendly neighbor to the north, thank you.

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