Merrill Garbus (of tUnE-yArDs) w/ Roomful of Teeth @World Financial Center, June 30th

Tonight caught the mesmerizing Merrill Garbus, who is better known as her main project tUnE-yArDs.  I had slept on seeing her in proper form, so when I realized she'd be performing (for FREE) as part of an ensemble in conjunction with The River To River Festival Ecstatic Summer program, I made damn well sure I put that in my calendar and hustled over for some seats in the front row of the World Financial Center, which was a nice outdoor venue by the water.

(More pics and words after the jump.)

Merrill first hit the stage alone, with her drums and ukuele, playing her signature combination of percussion and yelps.  She had such a joyous, focused air about her. Then, the a capella ensemble Roomful of Teeth joined her, enhancing her unique sound.  For the remainder of the program, RoT performed pieces composed by Merrill as well as another composer,William Brittelle.  Such a interesting sound compared to your usual a capella arrangements, which I sometimes find a little too clever for my tastes.

The opener, The Yehudim, sounded nice too, but the content perhaps a bit too esoteric for me.  They helped back RoT as well.

All in all, a nice evening, seeing all the musicians collaborate with each other incorporating different styles seamlessly.  I hope to catch Merrill Garbus in her proper form of tUnE-yArDs soon, but this will suffice for the time being.