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We realize it can be a pain to juggle your main band, your side project, and your side project's side project. The various tour schedules alone could spell breakup in even the best of situations. There is a solution, however, and the folks of Years, The Happiness Project, and Do Make Say Think have got it on lock-down. Tour the entire lot on the same bill. Genius!
The night kicked off with Years, the solo-guitarist project of Ohad Benchetrit. Alone in the Troubadour's dim stage lights, Benchetrit's looped guitar riffs created a sound far more lush and beautiful than one would expect from the simple fusion of electronics and strings.
Next up was The Happiness Project, a collection of neighborhood interviews conducted by Charles Spearin in an effort to expose the "natural cadence of people's speech" to find the "accidental melodies" elicited. Drums, keys, electronics, violins, guitars, and brass collide together to support the storytelling process (the only vocals are supplied by the tweaked confessional). The experience is all-consuming and emotional - one look around the audience during their set made you feel part of something (Bon Iver cemetery show, anyone?), something that connected each one of us to each other, to the band, and to the world at large.
The night ended with the full DMST crew launching directly into their 2009 release Other Truths. Which you should run out and purchase right this minute, as they easily made my (and everyone else's) Best Albums of last year list. And considering it's instrumental - well, that's saying something. Unfortunately for us, DMST (and friends) have left the US for the overseas portion of their tour. But keep them on your radar - you'll want to be part of the experience next time around.
