Fielded

Lindsey Powell as Fielded played Chicago ...... on some infernally cold Saturday to a packed and warm Crown Tap Bar on the north side. Lindsey is tiny and so it was best to be in front. I arrived well ahead of her set. There was even enough time for her to go to the bathroom. A lot of what I get from this band for the moment I can only get live.....and preserved on youtube I only recently discovered. In one of the videos she waves around a light-saber in the garage, and sings while cradling a dog in her arms. A veil of snow settles on them both. Cute, right?
Anyway, Terrorgeist is the vinyl release that I still have not bought yet. So all my impressions have a built in distance. But each performance leaves it's own stamp. Some are memorable for the novelty of where, like the one at some DIY venue in the dangerous south-side....Well yeah, near 26th st. It counts. It was cool, you can smoke everywhere and can just chill on both roofs.....anyway I'm veering off. I think she's going to move to L. A., bummer.
Ms Lindsey is in all kinds of projects that are great and each with a separate depth of mystery. I find her fascinating the more I research her. She is in Ga'an, Festival as well as Fielded, and is well traveled with them all. These are all very different animals from each other and Fielded is but one side to Lindsey Powell. This is perhaps the fifth time I see her in some capacity. I see her now so I can remember her shows in other iconic moments like at this old factory-turned venue on the south-side. Her primary instrument is her voice that she loops together into a chorus, and tweeks to sound deeper. Sometimes Lindsey uses two mics. Not this time. It's not just about what your voice is doing at the present moment but what else you can make it do at the same time. There is a lot that she demands of herself in this capacity.

The voice is another flexible instrument. Her music if ambient....when ambient, is also tense and suspenseful, and apparent when you see her sweat, outstretched hand and closed eyes. This is not something that is delivered casually. So how can this be of interest to goth culture? Well, she's weird and dark, and you can dance to her music. Do you remember how it felt to hear Zola Jesus the first time? Minimally electronic and organic. Her dark choral chants are trance inducing, and she takes her time in doing them. This is music that is not intended for the short attention-span. Yeah, she has her pagan chanting down. I think this is an easy sell to a goth crowd. It's the kind of weirdness we like to dance to. For those that like Zola Jesus, go see Fielded. At the very least you will find better parking I remember once reading about Fielded. They described her music as gospel. I can see that in this passionate delivery. She takes her time in assembling her songs, for this crowd that's OK. They seemed attentive. Her songs that I recall most easily "White Death" and "Another Time". But there is a lot that she plays that I'm familiar with but cannot name. . Lindsey adjusts and tweaks her instruments as she finds that moment when she can just close her eyes and be taken by her performance. Finally, this post is done.