I’d never heard of Heather Nova before I came to Germany, and when I did, it was just on the radio. MTV Europe didn’t exactly have her at the top of their rotation playlist, so when I received a pair of tickets to see her in concert after expressing interest in one of her songs, I was a bit pissed off that I didn’t get something a bit better as a birthday gift.
Before the concert I listened to a few of her tracks – Walk This World – grabbed my attention in particular, with its imploring chorus of “I want you to come, I want you to come, I want you to come, and walk this world with me”. I couldn’t help but notice that she seemed to put far more emphasis on the coming than the walking. And she wears some very fetching pink boots in the accompanying video.
Yes it’s true; I do have a lot of female singer-songwriters in my CD-collection, but Heather Nova? Someone whose songs are used on the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack? Not really me, I thought. I did, however, go to that concert; I wasn’t expecting much, especially when this thin, although not unattractive woman walked onstage. But instead of the pithy, reedy voice I was expecting, I was overwhelmed by a blast of choral noise. I think I stood for two hours staring at this woman on the stage, two or three metres away from me, with my (by now, familiar) slack-jawed expression. This woman was incredible. I know that lots of bands sound better live, more raw, edgier, whereas in fact she sounded purer, of much higher quality than when produced in a studio for CD. Her voice was fuller, more-rounded and hit notes better and for longer than on the CD.
She’s touring at the moment to promote her new album, redbird, (link to amazon site, with audio samples) and I bought a ticket for the concert as soon as I could. Last week I bought the CD – “better actually know the new songs, I thought”. Personally, I thought it was kind of okayish. Last night I got to actually hear the new songs live and they’re wonderful, just not as good on CD.
As I hate going to concerts alone, I invited Black Forest Girl.
“Heather Nova?” she asked, “I only know one of her songs and it’s on the Dawson’s Creek Soundtrack”.
“Look, the ticket’s for free – well okay, you can buy me a beer for it and it’s better than staying at home on a Saturday night and watching “Wetten Dass?”
“Okay”, she reluctantly agreed.
After the concert I asked her what she thought.
“Amazing!” she said, the slack-jawed expression still on her face.
If you get the chance, go and see her, but don’t say I didn’t warn you about the jaw.
Song playing as this was published: Heather Nova - “Mesmerized”
Must admit I have never heard of her……and I’ve never watched Dawsons Creek. I had a simular experience with a band I saw earlier this year called Kaylou. The band were better live than the CD.
As for staying in to watch Wetten Das with Thomas Gottschalk……the show’s watchable but he is terrible. He seems to have a weird attitude with women……not sure exactly what….but something definitley rotten in Denmark.
Haddock: If you click on the redbird link in the text it’ll take you to the amazon site of the CD where there are samples to listen to (RealPlayer required) I’d recommend 1-Welcome, 2-I Miss My Sky and 7-Mesmerised as a fair mix to check out.
I think most real, talented musicians are like that - better live, if only for the energy they bring with them, but she’s truly incredible in the way her voice gains something at the live performances.
The show’s “watchable”? Mr. Haddock, surely you jest?
Sparky got me into Heather Nova when we first started dating. We LOVE her. Heart and Shoulder is my fave. I hate how artisits like HN struggle for years while pipsqueaks like Ms. Lavigne just skate into the world.
I avoided Dawson’s Creek passionately, but I actually heard her on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s quite fantastic.
Gosh, I don’t have a clue who Heather Nova is. Must go find out.
For some strange reason my kids adore Wetten Das.
AF,
I definitely need to talk to Schwarzwaldmaedchen. An evening with Heather Nova in the company of an extrovert Englishman who likes to heckle animal rights activists and who is not afraid to ingest heavily processed chicken meat of dubious quality in order to make his point - who could possibly say no? Plus, as regular readers know, with you there is always the statistically significant chance that minor mishaps like lost spectacles and lost keys subsequently trigger even more entertaining events like break-ins. And all that for the price of just one beer.
JCS
PS: So-called adult alternative music is hardly played at all here in Germany. Veruca Salt, Jawbreaker and all the other little-known groups and performers seem to only stand a chance when receiving the support from popular TV shows or commercials. As an upshot we have to live with songs from Phil Collins, Tina Turner, Robbie Williams and ridiculous phone in contests most of the time.
Man, I know exaclty what you are talking about - saw her two years ago on her last German tour before “Redbird” in Darmstadt. I was also just about 10 feet from the stage and almost got my ears blown off by her UNAMPLIFIED voice… that is as clear as a bell.
I was quite disappointed she did not return to our fair city and the Hanau concert was apparently sold out by the second dayafter the tickets went on sale.
I have to admit, I know her name, but I never bothered to listen to any songs. I’ll check her out now. And oh, i’ll be seeing Mando Diao and Turbonegro in Stuttgart in November. I bet I get lost. And yeah, Mando Diao gets airplay on MTV and sometimes even VIVA and the radio but live they are just incredible-apart from the 16 year old-oh-we-are-so-alternative-and-we-are-only-here-because-we-love-music-fans. I just damm admit i’d do 3 of them…;)
JCS: Do I detect a slightly mocking tone in your address? And I can’t call her Schwarzwaldmaedchen, it makes me think of those silly hats as opposed to militant lesbianism/confused sexuality and excessive nicotine consumption. As it was I managed to get two pils out of her. On the other hand I did get to find out from flyers being handed out that Teenage Fanclub and Mando Diao are playing Stuttgart soon - tickets still available at pretty small/tiny venues. I’d never have found that out from the local music press, which are worse than useless except for reports along the lines of “3 days ago a small, unknown band played a blinding gig at Merlin, you really should have gone”.
As for potential mishaps, well we did go to an 80s party afterwards, which turned out to be a “LesBiGay, Rubber/Leather Fetish I Came Out In The Eighties Party”, but I thought my Jimmy Somerville falsetto singing was very much appreciated - it wasn’t a mishap at all. I was wearing contact lenses and I have spare keys EVERYWHERE now. What could possibly have gone wrong?
that_girl: I thought Mando Diao was Oct 20th? Or is there another gig? Oh, it’s that visons thing isn’t it? It’s at the Hans Martin Schleyer Halle where Westernhagen et al play. Madsen are doing it too I think.
Re: Ms. Nova, I wouldn’t necessarily buy a CD, but if you’re at a festival and she’s playing one of the stages go and see her. When I told music man Andreas (who introduces me to a stream of indie, well, bizarreness at times) that I’d seen Heather Nova I was expecting a torrent of abuse. He said he thought she was “another one of my whiney female singer-songwriter women” until he heard her at either Southside or Roskilde and thought she was the best musical act he’d even seen, although he wouldn’t play the CDs because they’re over-produced.
Oh, and I sent you an e-mail with some links.
jen, Sparky, sin: Thank you. I heard “another one of your whiney female singer-songwriter women?” from more than one person.
* The show’s “watchable”? Mr. Haddock, surely you jest? *
Ignore the watchable refference. I wasn’t feeling myself at the time