Tiny Vipers' Hands Across A Construction Site And An Alleyway
We haven't been shy about digging past Gum Dropper and restaurant worker Jesy Fortino, aka Tiny Vipers, and her fantastic Sub Pop debut, Hands Across The Void. We're also big fans of La Blogothèque, so it was good news when reader Douglas reached out and gave us the word on Tiny Vipers' San Francisco-based Take-Away Show. We'd seen her do "The Downward" in the past, but it wasn't in the storefront of a dusty furniture shop. Along with the trusty Ben Cissner, Fortino also takes on the Newsom and Decemberists-enunciated "On This Side" in a pre-drywalled, half-framed house and commits to tape an airy, skeletally paced new song "Tiger Mountain," shifting between daytime garden and dark between-house alley without missing a note. Fitting with the deeply personal feel of Fortino's songwriting, she eschews walking down the street or interacting with crowds, like some players of Take-Aways past. Instead, each performance finds her siting down, hair in face, seemingly unaware of the camera, often obscured by shadows or the sun, but always belting with that disarmingly strong voice of hers. Really, it's one of the most powerful La Blog shows to date ... and we're not just saying that.
"On This Side"
"Tiger Mountain
You can head over to La Blogothèque to see Fortino couch-sitting for "The Downward" and read cameraman Nate Chan's notes on the day. They initially wanted to shoot in a funeral parlor. Too bad it didn't work out -- that would've made nice gothy accompaniment to Marissa Nadler's recent Take-Away strumming. Next time.
Hands Across The Void is out on Sub Pop.
Posted at 3:37 PM in Video
Tags: Tiny Vipers
being a tiny vipers superfan and all, it's my obligation to say that it's definitely my favorite take away show. the only thing that even comes close is grizzly bear playing "shift" in the bathroom.
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