Red Light and Late Summer: Carla dal Forno at Knockdown Center
There’s something romantic in the boroughs of New York. A kind of promise that settles in beautiful sunlight morning and endless evenings that somehow give to endless nights. Walking to see Carla dal Forno’s headline set at the Ruins at Knockdown Center held that promise.
The Ruins are an iconic venue for that promise. It is one stage settled in the plant and gravel-laden backyard of Queen’s club and independent music venue, Knockdown Center. The space is unlike any other. I arrived just after doors, 6:30pm on a beautiful September night as the sun was just beginning to settle downwards. Concertgoers were slow to arrive, as any good party starts, so I had time to explore the nooks and crannies of the space — very cool!
ALANA MARKEL
The first opener began in old daylight to a small but growing crowd. Alana Markel is a growing name around the Brooklyn music scene, often seen on tickets with other artists who you know some day will be very big. Her three piece band included herself on keys, an acoustic guitar and a violin player, with sweet vocals, dreamy beats and lovely lyrics that settle nicely into the Dreampop genre.
ACOPIA
Acopia is the moment — cool and grunge and sexy. The band came out after nightfall had commenced and the watching crowd had swelled to double in size. The Melbourne based band complimented the somewhat esoteric night with dreamy contemporary shoegaze. Their performance was atmospheric and isolative and broke my heart.
CARLA DAL FORNO
Then came Carla dal Forno. The singer stepped onstage into a blanket of red light, accompanied by just one other member, a bassist who she said had begun working with her right before the tour began. The two had a comfortable chemistry onstage as Carla joked with and spoke to the crowd.
Like the wash of red light, the performance began as calm, constant, and well composed. The mellow nature of the performance juxtaposed awesomely against Carla’s hearty vocal load, especially as she began to play songs off her newest album, Confessions. Gesturing at the darkness of the outdoor venue, the singer joked that it was fitting for her to perform her song, Nighttime, which was readily accepted by the expectant crowd. The nearly-four minute piece was intense and sensual and highly feminine - my favorite of the night.
Following the performance, Carla let out a sigh and admitted she “felt like she had just run a marathon”. There, of course, was something very impressive about the kind of physicality she allowed into her performance.
The thing that I maybe have or have not yet communicated is that this show was unlike any others. The strange, outdoor venue paired with the post punk, shoegaze, sub-genre sounds of the bands created an ecosystem of sound, not just a concert.
As I wandered the concert grounds I saw others doing the same — others lost in haze, or lost in love, or blowing the smoke of cigarettes and conversation out of their mouths. There was a collective of individual experiences inside the venue, all linked by the unanimous sounds of the bands at play. Here, was New York City.
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