Took in a show Monday night from Native Korean Rock and the Fishnets, the recently announced side-project from Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Billed as "a body of love songs written over the last two years," the "short and sweet" (Ms. O's words, but I concur) set was beautiful, both musically and aesthetically. While the stage and players were decked out nautically, the music was sincere, delicate folk songs - at times sing-song and simple, at others startlingly avant-garde.Several times during the set I felt like I was experiencing something unique and magical, as Karen's Cheshire Cat smile exposed that she was simultaneously nervous and overjoyed about wearing these songs on her sleeve for the first time.
I hope she found the reception warm enough to continue this project of hers, and perform again very soon. At the most, Native Korean Rock will be a huge success, on par with (or surpassing) Cat Power, Feist and Joanna Newsom in the current crop of great female singer-songwriters. At the very least, it was an announcement for me that Karen O had a lot more talent and, dare I say, heart than I had ever given her credit for.Native Korean Rock - OOO
Here's a couple decent YouTube vids from the show:
And, bizarrely, here is a cover of a Native Korean Rock song that was recorded last November:
