Recap Low at Larimer Lounge

In the back of a dark room in a dirty bar, Charlie Parr is hunched over his guitar (which is strung with a double G-string), frantically but expertly strumming perfect blues and folk songs; some are covers, and most are originals. He has long hair and tiny spectacles, and looks like his eyes are closed. This is an exhilaratingly good blues artist. Although he sits fairly still, his performance is fascinating.

When a band has been around for 17 years, it may very well have found and gotten comfortable with its niche in the world of music. Low plays, beat for beat, the songs heard on its albums. The voices of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker are in perfect harmony, and are still enough to put you into a trance. This group may well play for another 17 years and remain on top of its game; whether its game is your thing is for you to decide.

Is it possible for a band to sound like it’s from Minnesota? Low is reminiscent of a long, dreary winter, tinged with physical beauty and a vast sense of hopelessness. New songs may not be offering much of a variation on musical themes from the band’s previous work—but that previous work, thankfully, is solid ground for Low to walk on.

This is a Christmas tour, and the band plays plenty of Christmas songs for it, both originals and covers of some classics. Beyond that, the audience saw a few songs from the old days of I Could Live In Hope. The cover was $15, and the music lasted for more than an hour and a half, easily giving audience members their money’s worth.