Sierra Swan
Nightvision @ MOCA
6/10/06
Take the swaggering, feminine attitude of Fiona Apple and the redhead
good looks of Tori Amos; put them together and you get Sierra Swan.
Swan grew up as a Valley native and launched her musical career at age
16 with performances at a coffee shop in Van Nuys. By age 18, she had a
weekly residency at Goldfinger’s in Hollywood. Now she collaborates
with the likes of Linda Perry and Aimee Mann to write the darkly melodic
piano and synth-driven rock songs that make up her debut album Ladyland,
released in May on Interscope Records.
I got the chance to see Swan and her band perform last Saturday night
for Nightvision at the MOCA in downtown LA. They played through a
half-hour set of songs from Ladyland, all of them fronted by Swan’s
lounge-act sexy voice and rock star appeal.
The set opened with “Lucky Scar” as Swan’s voice permeated deep into the
crowd. The only thing that seemed to plague the band’s performance was
a lack of stage presence from the bassist, who sat down for the first
few songs, and the lead guitarist, who managed to look bored and timid
while playing his soft, lilting and pleasant-sounding melodies.
Nonetheless, any ostensible boredom on the part of the band didn’t
matter much at all in the end; it really becomes difficult to pay
attention to anyone besides Swan. When I looked up from my notes long
enough to see if everyone else was as into it as I was, I noticed that
they were all doing the swaying dance that I like to call the
“drink-in-hand half-dance,” and all eyes were on her.
The highlights of the set were “Just Tell Me” which Swan described as “a
slow, disco tune,” about “someone I hate,” and “Mother,” the moody
closing song which featured only Swan on keyboards and a guest musician
on cello. In “Copper Red,” the album’s opener, Swan tells us “I am in
no hurry to receive your adulation.” But judging from Saturday night’s
performance, it may come quicker than she thought.
-Diana Salier