She Keeps Bees

On the Saturday night of NXNE, my girlfriend and I decided to make our way upstairs from the Reverb to Holy Joe’s during a break between sets. Basically Holy Joe’s is just a room, 3 storeys up, with no windows, and a tiny bar that serves an eclectic selection of beer. It’s like the attic to the Tiger Bar’s basement.

We walked into a surprisingly intimate performance by Brooklyn’s She Keeps Bees, aka Jessica Larrabee (hence the name) on guitar and vocals, backed by a friend on drums. Jessica was a tad nuts, but had a great sense of humour and kept things rolling with her random swearing and pointed discussion on the key to everything being one’s ability to: “not give a f*ck.”

The engaging stage presence was just an addendum to the great music. Larrabee’s sound was especially reminiscent of Karen Oh from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Patti Smith of Television. After the set she was handing out copies of her album Minisink Hotel, half of which you can hear on her home page. I personally enjoy Lucille, and the opening track Stand Where I Can See You.

Check out her myspace page here to download Lucille.