Seeking refuge from the driving rains outside, a sold-out audience crammed into the baroque Brooklyn Academy Of Music this past Friday night to witness darling Joanna Newsom jam alongside the Brooklyn Philharmonic. OK, it was a little bit more structured than “jamming,” but there were so many hypnotic “oh shit!” moments that we felt like we were witnessing a seriously otherwordly collaboration. But, as trance-inducing as it was to watch Newsom tackle Ys in its entirety as it was meant to be heard, the real treat came post-intermission when she aired her more Appalachian tunes to the stunning acoustics of BAM. Backed by a trio and drawing heavily from the Milk-Eyed Mender and new compositions, Newsom’s spry, unique voice found its aural utopia in that concert hall, even if the between song banter dragged a bit (percussion dude, please don’t tell anymore stories.) But, when the band left the stage to allow Newsom to finish the performance with an incredible but untitled new song, all was good and bliss was achieved.
