Tealights @ Drunken Unicorn 9/20/08

The last thing I want is to turn into some sort of Atlanta music TMZ affiliate, so I'll try to keep the gossip to a minimum: One Hand Loves The Other was a four-piece Atlanta band that fused electronic compositions with classical instrumentation and pop sensibilities and began getting serious notice last year. What pushed them over the edge and set indie hearts all aflutter, in addition to their blending of past and of-the-moment music into something forward-reaching, was dreamboat front man Lou Rodriguez's soaring, R&B-inflected vocals. Basically, OHLTO was the perfect combination of music's future and past, shined, honed and well-produced. They played shows. Earned acclaim. Released a self-titled debut. Earned more acclaim. Released a remix album. And then they imploded.

It was a clash of personalities and interests that set the whole thing tumbling down like a Jenga game. At least, that's what's to be gleaned from the scattershot series of conversations that dotted the OHLTO social networking sites. Suffice it to say, most likely Lou went his way, and now the rest of they-who-were-One-Hand-Loves-The-Other (programmer/laptopist/beat-smith Mikey Johnson, flautist/keyboardist/vocalist Nancy Shim and cellist/vocalist Mary Knight) have gone theirs. Or, rather, are in the process of going theirs.

That's a simple way of encapsulating what's probably the most interesting Web 2.0 war Atlanta's seen since Big Boi and Andre starting LOLCat spamming each other (didn't happen, wish it would), especially since, as my grandfather always said, there are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth. But I made the decision early in the evening, before even descending the stairs to the Drunken Unicorn, that I wasn't going to press any of the members of Tealights for any sort of Q&A session before their set. These are human beings we're talking about here-- humans with nerves, who have gone through a band dissolution and resurrection in a very short period of time, about to play their very first show. A crowd is not something most bands have to worry about being present at their first gig, but Tealights certainly did.

Due in part, no doubt, to the several hundred Facebook invites sent out by the band, and to the rabid fan base OHLTO developed during its short life (note that I'm totally undercutting the popularity of the show's headlining band, Throw Me The Statue, but that's just because I don't like them), the Drunken Unicorn, which I've seen starkly, painfully empty for some of my favorite national touring bands, started to fill very early.

It was a crowd Nancy, Mikey and Mary took notice of, those aforementioned nerves very much on display and more than a little rattled at giving their new songs their public debut. When they took the stage by informally entering through the crowd, acknowledging everyone with half-waves, nervous grins and a stammered, "We're Tealights," the pressure in the room increased palpably.

From the moment Mikey, crouched behind his towering wall of various instruments, a mixer and a laptop, loosed the opening thunder of what I can only call "Song 1," my worries about disappointment fell away. The Unicorn reverberated with the heavy, bass-thick rumble of a Björk-esque breakbeat that differentiated itself from the more cut-and-splice OHLtO programming aesthetic by being more a part of the song's overall makeup and less the entire focus. As Mary began accompanying the rolling thunder coming from Mikey's laptop with her cello, the two struck a union that instantly raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

As Mary began singing, I reflected that her backup role in the band's former incarnation had been unfortunate. In this new format, as one third of a whole, her part felt stronger, more realized, and with good reason: In addition to being a spectacular cellist, she has a great voice. The levels, though, the levels: The sound on Mary's vocals, on any and everything Nancy played (keys, guitar, voice) and on most of the mountain of gear Mikey spent the evening hiding behind, were all drowned out by the pulsing throbs of programming from the laptop. For a less intricate band, it wouldn't matter. For Tealights, however, with their array of delicate sounds and instrumentation choices, it was a definite disservice, and one that continued through the second song-- we'll call it "Song 2."

More of an electro-pop standard than anything OHLtO ever did, Nancy's vocals took center-stage during "Song 2" and made me wonder where she was when that whole electroclash fad I so stupidly bought into was raging around the city (and my headphones). Maybe it was the electro-bass buzz, maybe it was those pesky problems with the levels on everything but the laptop (note to self: start a band, name it that), but she sounded a little robotic, which, for the song, was perfect.

Those plaguing I-can't-hear-anything-but-the-beats issues carried through Tealights' entire set, which blew to a heavy, powerful and emotive head with the long, explosive third song. Themes of anger, frustration, fear and loss were present in every song, but none more so than in the third, which featured an instrumental union of electronic breaks, guitar, cello and keys. "Gee, they have some anger left in them over the whole issue," someone in the crowd whispered, a little too loudly.

Skittish from nerves, there were flubbed notes and missed keys during the 30-minute, 5-song set, but with each mistake the band members would smile and giggle to one another. While Lou had never been the showman-- choosing, at the times I'd seen OHLtO play, to guard himself with the mic stand and pretend the audience was invisible-- the fact that Tealights had no definite focal point for the open-eyed audience was a drawback. The line of sight tended to linger on Mikey at the center, who seemed to be the most nervous and/or the least happy to be on stage. Nerves are definitely excusable. Lofty expectations too. The sheer amount of work he had to do, taking up glockenspiel and accordion at various points during the set, also accounts for that. Then there are those sound level issues.

But this was the first set, consisting of what are probably the only finished songs Tealights has, from the remaining members of a band that imploded too early while on the verge of greatness. I certainly don't want to risk losing Tealights before they've even been lit (sorry, I've been saving that one up this whole time), and so I'll say this: Are they a great band? Not yet. Is the potential there? Yes. In "Song 1", Mary sings the lyric "Where do I go now?" My response: fix the levels, and it's only up from here.

Tealights' next show is Oct. 9 at the Drunken Unicorn with Evangelicals.

Related links:
Tealights on MySpace
One Hand Loves The Other on MySpace