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SXSW review: Carl Broemel
SXSW can operate in strange ways. While half of Austin was clamoring to get inside Seaholm for Kanye West’s living Vevo ad on Saturday, St. David’s intimate Bethel Hall was half full for a solo set by Carl Broemel, best known as the guitarist for indie rock band My Morning Jacket. Joining him were Tom Blankenship and Bo Koster, MMJ’s keyboardist and bassist, meaning three out of five members of a band that sells out multiple nights at both Stubb’s in minutes played for a hundred or so people. While that may speak more to the star power of MMJ leader Jim James, it’s still surprising. As he demonstrated during his set, Broemel can sing and write extremely well, and he’s an ace on the guitar.
He’s also a nice guy. He quietly explained that he was happy to be playing at St. David’s because he learned to sing in an Episcopal church choir as a boy. His songs and his voice are just as understated, and they might come across as a little too gentle if it weren’t for some of the effects he employed throughout the set. On opener “In The Garden,” from his 2010 album “All Birds Say,” he recorded a three-part harmony and a simple percussion part on the spot to accompany himself. In “On The Case” Broemel interrupted his electric finger picking with a subtle psychedelic interlude. The crowd cheered when Blankenship and Koster joined in, and rightly so — the combination of grand piano, pedal steel and bass rivaled the finer moments of their other band. Finally, there was a bit of humor at the end with a cover of “Lollipop” (the 1950’s song, not Lil Wayne, although that would’ve been something).
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