It Happened Last Night
NYC Rain a Perfect Match for El Perro del Mar
NEW YORK: Swedish chanteuse Sarah Assbring brings the sexy back to the Bowery Ballroom.
By Spin Staff 03.02.07 4:00 AM
Sarah Assbring, the exotic voice of El Perro del Mar, flanked by her strings and organ, caused a rare phenomenon at the Bowery Ballroom on the first night of her U.S. tour. With cold intoxicating chord swells and passionate, reverberating vocals, the Swedish pop siren hypnotized the audience into stillness and silence. With taps of her red velvet flats on a tambourine providing the only percussion, Assbring's gypsy melodies could out-haunt Sigur Ros any day. Wind chimes and echoes of her verses were quiet storms over frozen plains, while the crimson lights shed an eerie glow over her band. LAVINIA WRIGHT / PHOTOS BY DAVE GUSTAV
>> Listen to El Perro del Mar on Napster
We asked: "What instrument do you feel isn't used enough in rock music?"
Name: Jeannie Scofield
Age: 25
Hometown: New York, NY
Occupation: Music producer
"The accordion. It can do what an organ can, but it's very portable. And it doesn't have to polka."
Name: Todd Michaels
Age: 29
Hometown: Miami, FL
Occupation: Criminal defense attorney
"The triangle. The last time I saw a triangle, I was playing it in my kindergarten graduation."
Name: Alex
Age: 24
Hometown: Santa Barbara, CA
Occupation: Post-production
"The clarinet. It's kind of hypnotizing."
Name: Bettina
Age: 35
Hometown London, UK
Occupation: Mom
"Slide trombone. It's very demonstrative. You can mute it or blast it."
Name: Adam
Age: 32
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: DJ
"French Horn. It doesn't always sound like a horn."
Name: Mark
Age: 28
Hometown: Morningside Heights, NY
Occupation: Student
"Unaccompanied snare drum, like the Violent Femmes. Or I think that was a tom?"
Name: Gabby
Age: 27
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Freelancer
"Cowbell. I think the last band I saw use one was the Hold Steady."
Name: Madeline
Age: 23
Hometown: Houston, TX
Occupation: Painter
"The accordion. I saw a guy play one at an art opening, but never at a rock show."
El Perro del Mar, soaked in golden tones, wows the crowd
It's all good ... red velvet shoes make the party
Red light, red shoes...
Got something to say?