One of the most pleasant surprises of CMJ came on the first night. After checking out the Indaba lounge located in a third story walk up loft on the Bowery, I headed to the Bowery Ballroom for the Brooklyn Vegan showcase. I knew next to nothing about Bon Iver nor The Shaky Hands, but had a least listened to a few tracks from Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago. Bon Iver dosed the crowd at the Bowery Ballroom in haunting falsetto and lonesome atmospherics that set a luscious mood for the evening. Needless to say I bought a handmade copy of For Emma, Forever Ago after the set. More on him later, this post is about The Shaky Hands.
They came on after Bon Iver and raged the Ballroom for 45 minutes. Two Les Pauls, steady-as-she-goes bass, rhythmically entrancing hand percusion and some big hair thrown in for good measure. The Portland band blazed through selections from their self-titeld debut. A heavy dose of jangly heartfelt American rock and roll. A week later I still can't quite put my finger on what I really like about this band, mainly because I think it's all right where it should be. I bought the record from bassist Mayhaw Hoons after the show who told me they were on their last week of a three week tour cross country. If they were tired from driving from Cleveland the day before it sure didn't show, as their performance was as genuine as a pair of Levi's Original 501's. Their record hasn't left my CD player yet.
The Shaky Hands- The Sleepless
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