Luke Rathborne At Home In The Living Room

Luke Rathborne: February 18, 2011 @ The Living Room, New York, NY

Luke Rathborne recently came onto my radar. He has a double EP I Can Be One / Dog Years scheduled for release on March 8. Having heard some tracks, I really wanted to check him out live.

Rathborne, a wisp of a man who sings with his eyes closed the majority of the time, took the stage at The Living Room kicking things off solo and accompanying himself on the piano. Being a newbie to his work, I don't know the name of the song but it was understated, beautiful, soulful and just simply stunning. A few songs in he was joined by drummer John Eatherly. I'm typically not a fan of the drums but Eatherly was a total wild man back there; he was totally insane. The pair launched into a series of upbeat songs that were reminiscent of jangly Brit pop. Bassist Darren Hayes Will arrived late, towards the end of the set, and kicked the jangly sound up a notch though they tuned it down for the wistful "Dog Years." Rathborne ended the show as he began it, solo at the piano.

I don't know if it had to do with where I was sitting or if it was the sound system, but the music seemed a bit too loud and from my vantage point Rathborne appeared to have to over sing (for lack of a better description) to be heard over the music. He's young. He has the songs and he has the chops. I'm partial to the soulful piano tunes personally. But, there's something special about Rathborne though and I look forward to watching him grow.

More photos HERE.


Songs Played (may not be in order)

• Suntan
• When I Need You
• Don't Wait
• Last Forgiven
• You Let Me In
• Northern Shore
• Why
• Wanna Be You
• Dog Years

Upcoming: Luke Rathborne + MP3

Singer/songwriter Luke Rathborne will release his double EP I Can Be One / Dog Years on March 8 via Dilettante. Rathborne is simply beautiful and haunting. You can hear for yourself in the MP3 Grab at the bottom of the post.

Rathborne has a couple of gigs coming up this week in NYC. He'll be on the LES TOMORROW, Monday, February 14 at Cake Shop at 9PM and if you can't make that or want double the pleasure, he'll be at The Living Room on Friday, February 18 at 7PM.

Dog Years embraces Rathborne's more pop aesthetic - not shinny, happy pop, but effervescent, melancholic pop. The title title track offers a cynical poke to not letting the "dog years" pass you by. If you hear a bit of Dylan in the New Yorker's tone, you aren't mistaken. He also cites a lot of '60s and '70s music like The Kinks and The Beatles as impacting those early tracks, written as a teenager in Maine.

The material from the second set, I Can Be One, was penned following Rathborne's move to New York City after high school and completed with members of Antony and the Johnsons contributing to the arrangements. Big Star and Lou Reed's Berlin enter the realm of influences, and the material takes on a somber, darker hue. It's title track, "I Can Be One," is one of the tracks that led Devendra Banhart to invite Luke on tour and exclaim, "I love this young dude," in a recent Magnet piece.

But while the tones change, the inspiration is largely the same. "All of the songs - on both EPs - are about being afraid of connecting, because connections open up the possibility of being harmed...It's interesting that they intersect here, because I'd been playing with the idea of putting them together and seeing how they mix, but this seems a lot more pure - this is my music, this is what I want to say, and this is how I want to say it," Luke explains.

MP3 Grab: "Dog Years" (right click, save)