White Magic at the Echo
December 1st, 2008
Mira Billotte.
Los Angeles, California
November 24, 2007
Hailing from New York City, psych folk tugboat White Magic have been busy as a bee for the better part of this decade, plying their local waterways to gently guide huge dirge ships out onto the stormy, night sea. On a chilly November evening at the Echo in Los Angeles, the band took forever and a day to set up, only to be promptly plagued by technical difficulties. Almost an hour later, they finally got their act together and proceeded into songland, offering up gems from throughout their slim discography. Normally, I’m not one to go to a concert and expect to hear this song or that, cuz I like novelty and spontaneity, but I sure wouldn’t have objected if they played “Palm and Wine” off of their excellent Dat Rosa Mel Apibus album. They didn’t, but I still had a tempest-tossed time anyway. So did the thick crowd, who left with a belly full of sad, beautiful music.
Mira Billotte and Doug Shaw.