The Croft, Bristol – April 14th 2009
Chicago’s Casiotone for the Painfully Alone aka Owen Ashcroft has developed considerably as an artist in the decade since his debut album. With an array of instruments bolstering the once fragile tones of his beloved battery-operated keyboards, Ashcroft has pushed his stripped-down electro-pop into a fuller, more confident form. On this year’s Vs. Children, Ashcroft broadened his musical scope to the extent he felt it opportune to tour with a band for the first time, an exciting prospect indeed.
Ashcroft opens tonight’s set in familiar solo guise with his array of synths, keyboards, and gadgets spread before him in the Croft’s unique gloom. After stumbling through a couple of tracks, he takes requests from the audience which results in the upbeat White Corolla and the sombre White on White, appearing before Ashcroft has fully settled into his environment. The excellent Lesley Gore on the T.A.M.I. Show follows shortly, but again is missing something, this time in the form of Jenny Herbinson’s bittersweet vocal. The character sketches and succinct narratives at the heart of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s appeal, are unfortunately muddied with Ashcroft’s baritone coming across muffled and distorted in the mix.
After playing several highlights from his lo-fi beginnings, Ashcroft is joined on stage by Tyler Thurston who plays Moog on I Love Creedence. Once again the quality of the song is not fully realised in the live setting. When brother Gordon and drummer Nick Tamburro join them things sadly don’t improve. The band succeed in providing additional percussive and melodic thrust on tracks such as Old Panda Days, but rarely match Ashcroft’s vision. Ultimately, they fail to do justice to the range of textures showcased on the Vs. Children and Etiquette albums.
The majority of the audience appear familiar with and endeared to the source material performed tonight and are content simply to see it recreated. For the impartial listener, however, tonight’s performance is unlikely to convey either the scope of Ashcroft’s recent output or the naïve charm of his early musical forays and that is a great shame.
Originally appeared at Suit Yourself Magazine
