Owen Ashworth, the California-born film school dropout, hit D.C.’s most intimate venue, Black Cat, on Sunday, April 25th. Although a solo project, Ashworth hit the stage with members of his support act, Magically Beautiful, to bust out a show full of melancholy numbers, much to the delight of the audience. Casiotone For the Painfully Alone, aren’t all as downbeat as the name would suggest – in fact, quite the opposite. On a musical level, the songs present short and sweet, with major key upbeat tones garnished with fast paced drums, distortion and a sprinkling of toy keyboards and such to add to Casiotone’s charm. Each song is short and sweet, and each song played immersed the crowd more in this perfected lo-fi sound, asking, very politely, for more.
So where does this so called melancholy come in, one may ask? Well, lyrically, Casiotone do indeed present for the painfully alone, with negative brooding lyrics enough to break anyone’s heart. The crowd listened contently and carefully Ashworth and his posse played out a range of material from his back catalogue. Reaching out from the so-called depths of despair, each song was played with an honesty and charm, with great backing from the support band, including a trombone and trumpet and various percussion. It was not far from the vein of that of Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes (QRO album review), and if this show was anything to go by, it is a shame that although Casiotone For the Painfully Alone have been around for considerable time, they have not received greater recognition for their musical goodness. After all, who doesn’t love a little bit of heavy hearted, loathing musings to drown ones sorrows in? Particularly to the art hipster crowd which a band like Casiotone tend to attract.
It is extremely hard to convey the emotions involved with the show at Black Cat. With such a thorough backing and upbeat tempo provided by an rather animated drummer, rather than a truly solo show, this certainly wasn’t more of the despondent shows, but still the underlying tones from the trademark lyricism and even the name speak for itself.
With no real set planned, but more of an ad hoc approach to the material played, the outfit still presented itself as a tight collective and was musically concrete, even if the members on stage presented less than socially awkward. Although some may complain about so-called mumbled delivery and inconsistency, to me it seems more than intentional and adds to the charm and emotional effectiveness of the show.
Casiotone For the Painfully Alone certainly do have that certain charm, which was strongly conveyed in what can be described as really, a quite simply beautiful show. Attentiveness from the crowd and band both shone through, boosting the intimate atmosphere, allowing for ones heart really to flutter free and feel the fascination.
