Anna Mieke at The Monarch Tavern in Toronto, Ontario Canada
November 8, 2023
Brooklyn-based Adelyn Strei is both talented and fearless as the opener. Mounting the stage with electric guitar, flute, clarinet and a sea of pedals, she literally manufactured music before our eyes. From her clear, angelic voice, she leaned forward, building loops from a range of techniques, layering one upon the other to birth full compositions – which were as delightful to hear as theywere fascinating to watch. Despite an electrical snafu, she solved the issue without skipping a beat – literally. What a lovely way to precede a band who is similarly difficult to peg. Open-minded listeners found delight in this veritable orchestra leader of a one-woman-band. Find more information about Adelyn here: https://adelynstrei.bandcamp.com/track/original-spring
Despite the Anna Mieke billing, one quickly realized that Anna is one of three superbly talented musicians who – together – create a mood and a genre entirely of their making. Joining her on drums (an understatement for what he does) is Matthew Jacobson and, behind what-can-barely-be-called keyboards – and sax – Ryan Hargadon. Any Irish-based act can often be quickly tattooed with the Celtic tag but this is certainly no Clannad. Nor is what they do accurately described by the handle ‘surreal alt-folk’, as they’ve been branded. Mieke’s luminous catalogue of songs suggest traditional roots on occasion – but each composition seems to originate from an entirely different place.
Truly mystical and other-worldly at times, the surprise of the show was the realization that each song seems anchored by Mieke’s phenomenal fingerstyle guitar work and the sounds she achieves on her 1937 Epiphone guitar. Fleet-fast, spidery fingers fly as each song is often triggered by this refreshingly non-traditional repertoire which – sometimes – has more in common with jazz than folk. The energy expended by this petite, waif-like figure in the delivery of her songs – shifting front leg to back – in a near-possessed, metronomic manner has more in common with Pete Townshend than any Molly Malone, save the windmills. Jacobsen, too, will initiate a tune with an uncommonly delicate array of percussive techniques – constantly growing the effect until the beat develops legs of its own while Hargadon – a veritable Wizard of Oz – adds vocals atop sheer keyboard artistry, often simulating a much larger band, while laying into his sax and doing double-duty on bass notes. Each song opens like a flower – building to a veritable crescendo equipped with the power to explore multiple musical landscapes – all in the same song – delivered with a nuanced synergy and the power to take you somewhere entirely new and especially intoxicating.
But let’s not leave out the key instrument – Mieke’s voice. In it, you’ll find the dark mysticism of the Emerald Isle, wrapping itself around her carefully-constructed and artful lyricism – which underlines the heritage of her homeland while assisting the concepts of time and space probed with each arrangement. It’s not any voice you might be used to hearing given its siren-like, ethereal edge and reliance on trancelike, rhythmic patterns. Possessed of an intensity which transports you to a deliciously dreamlike state in varying degrees, Nick Drake comes to mind, if not the spectral spell of Sandy Denny. There’s an intimate, sombre beauty to these darkly seductive – if not entirely hypnotic – arrangements, aided by a vocal range which can frequently border on the paranormal.
With nary a word of introduction, the band launched into Theatre’s “For A Time” with its soft cymbal wash, its slight Celtic feel transforming itself into something darker, as childlike strains of “La-la-la-la-la-la” collide with Jacobson’s distinctive, aggressive drum pattern before it all stops, abruptly.
Delicate elements of percussion introduce a slow, gently-picked beginning on guitar as “Mannequin” (also from latest release, Theatre) unfolds. Jacobson’s creative use of a wide range of percussive tools (shakers, shells, chimes and a hushed preference for mallets) join Hargadon’s abundance of harmonic, harp-like elements, adding sympathetic, rhythmic strains in subtle support of Mieke’s interwoven vocal.
A soft organ intro merges with cymbal washes, giving way to gently-picked guitar lines, helping the temporarily orphaned “Ornament“ to achieve its gossamery, waltz-like pace, its outward-looking lyrics augmented by Hargadon’s accordion-esque sounds bordering on whale cries. Jacobson’s beefy tom-tom beats contrast with Mieke’s vocal as it lifts skyward, unencumbered.
The gentle guitar intro to “Coralline” again recalls Nick Drake, underlining Mieke’s ability to park yet another bewitching vocal into the front seat as Adelyn Strei returns on clarinet to create, with Hargadon’s sax, a soothing horn section. Synthesized effects and inventive percussion further embellish the track, its lyric mining our collective longing for connection.
Mieke moves to piano for Idle Mind’s “Creature” as gentle cymbal swells and tranquil-sounding sax embellish a feeling of isolation and of feeling trapped and alone. The relatively sparse accompaniment accentuates Mieke’s high-register vocal, bolstered by percussion, as she layers in a twittering, chirping effect.
Hargadon’s keyboard intro to Theatre’s “Red Sun” meets Mieke’s central, prominent fingerstyle guitar as another mesmerizing vocal floats along above a comparatively foggy scenario with a trippy, waltz-like feel.
The traditional “Go Away From My Window,” has been covered by many but dedicated, here, to its author (American musicologist/songwriter/performing artist known for his high falsetto and self-accompaniment on homemade dulcimers, John Jacob Niles), providing yet another demonstration of Mieke’s exceptional vocal range. With sparse accompaniment save the slight blush of cymbals, soft sax and her fingerpicked guitar, Mieke unleashed a transcendent, passionate vocal clearly bewitched with the spirit of the originator, matching the deep level of heartbreaking devastation he’s attempting to survive. Again, the hint o’ Denny may be audible to some.
“Salt” proves a highly voice-driven song taking full advantage of Jacobson’s adventurous approach to percussion with its infectious downbeat, hand-drumming together with flourishes of Hargadon’s sax. A slightly repetitive, understated guitar line, together with Mieke’s penchant for rocking back and forth helped deliver an overall Celtic feel and a conceptional comparison to Kate Bush might not be unfounded.
The stunning “Seraphim” unlocks memories of dancing, of people and places long gone and the overall pain of dealing with loss. At the same time, it’s an upbeat song that, musically, seems to deliver on a feeling of sunny skies and hopefulness – marking the end of the show.
In asking a fellow attendee to attempt to define what they had just witnessed, it was not surprising to hear a response likening it to ‘resembling a soundtrack for Lord of the Rings’. A personal reply, yet a fair one – as the meaning behind Mieke’s music is largely left up to the listener, resulting in it becoming all the more enchanting. If there is any intended meaning to these songs, she’ll not supply it, as it’s all about conjuring feelings.
This well-travelled troubadour has clearly absorbed a rich collection of musical cultures – each of which further remove her from the occasionally over-travelled roads of her Irish counterparts. Equally refreshing is the fact that, to her, melody trumps the meanings of the lyrics – the one in service to the others. Her absorption of multiple influences, coupled with bits and pieces of cherished memories and observations – people, places and sensations – only add to the overall effect of Mieke’s carefully-crafted creation of an otherworldly place.
To have been able to witness this oversized creative force of nature within the intimate confines of a small pub setting has only further intensified this musical milestone. Given the rewards and accolades Anna Mieke has earned in such a short timespan only increases the likelihood that this rare glimpse into an artist and her work may never happen again – making this memory all the more precious. A glorious escape.
Find more details here: https://annamieke.com/