Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
July 2nd at the First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia

The chapel of the First Unitarian Church can’t contain 150 people without bursting at the seams. And it was in this intimate setting that Casiotone for the Painfully Alone performed a casual, nearly all-request show. CFTPA in this incarnation may have been just a lone Owen Ashworth surrounded by keyboards and electronic doodads, however, like all the best singer-songwriters, his wavering voice and poignant words did more than enough to demand our full attention.

Unsurprisingly, a bulk of the set was dedicated to his latest album, Vs. Children. It’s an album lush with jangly synths, droning organ pipes, and, of course, the charming lo-fi fuzz that has long characterized CFTPA’s body of work. Tunes like “Natural Light” and “Traveling Salesman’s Young Wife Home Alone on Christmas in Montpelier, VT” sounded especially beautiful within the confines of the church atmosphere. Like the chapel itself, the music was imbued with a sense of solemn dignity as the concertgoers packed the pews, rapt with reverent awe. Most impressively, however, was Owen’s ability to juggle the overwhelming amount of requests he received, and even encouraged as he repeatedly asked what we wanted to hear. While obviously unable to play every song mentioned, he did manage to fit in an awful lot of them, made all the more remarkable given the rigid time constraints. (This was the early show after all, with another directly to follow.) After an hour spent listening to his haunting musings on love and loneliness, we left feeling just a little less alone as Owen geared up to do it all over again.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Read past installments of It Shows:

David Byrne at the Greek Theater, Berkeley and the Hunches at the Hemlock, San Francisco

King Sunny Adé and Papercuts at the Independent and Starfucker at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco

Phish: June 20th and 21st at Alpine Valley, WI and Elvis Costello: June 22nd at Amoeba Music, SF