PHOTOS: BRIGID GALLAGHER | Juana Molina is a former comedic television actress who made a foray into music in the late ’90s, leaving her acting career behind. Her humor and immense talent as a musical artist carries through in her live sets and the show at Old Town School of Folk Music Thursday, April 10 was no different.
Though she’s flown somewhat under the radar in the States, she definitely has quite the fan base in Chicago, as well as around the world. With this being her first US tour in 5 years and with the critical acclaim of her latest album, Wed 21, Molina has been missed. She is known for her unconventional approach to song creation and her lyrics are abstract rather than topical. For fans of Feist who seek a similar yet even more experimental sound, Molina needs to be added to your playlists. The two artists also toured together in 2008, so there you go.
Molina sings in her native Rioplatens Spanish which made me a little nervous to see the show because I don’t always understand her lyrics. But after getting a taste of Wed 21 in the days leading up to the show, I had to see what this talented lady was all about.
After a very cool set put on by supporting band, Weatherman, Molina came onstage and waved shyly at the adoring crowd. There is no reason for the internationally recognized musician to be shy and the quickly came out of her shell as she was warmly welcomed by her Chicago fans. She was dressed in an all red outfit that seemed thrown together but also intentional: a crimson, crush velvet skirt, clownish, shiny mary jane shoes, and her waist-length hair a bit uncombed. It was definitely a playful and homely aesthetic that complimented her sound.
Deep bass and lights pulsing to Molina’s strange and layered beats made the entire set completely mesmerizing. She played lots of tunes from her latest album, Wed 21 including “Eras,” “Ferocismo,” and “Lo Decidi Yo.” Molina was also having a lot of fun with the audience, at one point asking us to shout out a silly pronunciation of “awesome” like “au-we-sum” and later infusing this into a heavily layered loop.
About halfway through the set, Molina admitted that she is a bit of a perfectionist and that her technical difficulties were bothersome. “It’s a very delicate set. I know it by heart and I can’t live without it,” she says when she has problems achieving an effect that sounds like a combination of TV static and echoes on her guitar. It makes no difference, “Ok, time to improvise,” and the crowd is even more enthusiastic. Yes, the sound was delicate but also hard-hitting and had lots of fans standing to groove in the aisles.
Despite the technical difficulties that Molina had with her equipment, the set sounded really wonderful. I’m sure some of this was due to driving along Chicago’s streets which are ridden with potholes from a very snowy, icy winter.
Her touring band was all smiles and clearly enjoyed her silliness as they looked quite young themselves. The entire spotlight is on Molina at her shows and you can’t quite predict what she’s going to throw out next.
You can also grab Wed 21 on vinyl at your local record store!
