Merrill Garbus

While the Northside Festival played host to a number of buzzing up-and-comers (Real Estate, Kurt Vile, Woods, and many, many more), for my money, the breakout act of the festival was tUnE-YaRdS, aka Merrill Garbus. Merrill, who began recording music after her mother gave her a ukulele two years ago, recently released her debut Bird Brains, a collection of found sound collages, tape loops, rhythmic pitter patters and vocals so warm and gracious you’d think they were made of apple butter, on Marriage Records.

One of three showcases tUnE-YaRdS played was the Hooves on the Turf show at Trophy Bar on Saturday afternoon. Stripped of her band, Merrill opened her Saturday afternoon set with an accapella version of “Hatari,” which had goosebumps creeping up and down the arms of literally everyone in the room. She played the solo show completely acoustic adding an air of intimacy to the already intimate club. Intimate indeed, as Bird Brains standouts like “Fiya”, a romantic jalopy of a love song, and “When You Tell The Lions,” which, despite a lack of percussion, played out like a jungle rattling monster, were even more affecting in the cramped quarters, where Merrill’s majestic voice was truly on display.

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