AustinExperience.com Spotlight

Pieces of East (formerly Shadow Box)

I had the opportunity to check out Shadow Box's performance at Steamboat. Even before the show began, I could tell from the unusual instrumentation that it wouldn't be a typical rock performance. In addition to guitar (Anuj Timblo), bass (Pat Cieply), drums (Will Kidd), keyboards and vocals (Laura Giammona), the band featured a percussionist (Abhinit Bhatt) playing the Tabla, and was joined by a violinist (Omar Lopez).

I was very impressed with how well Shadow Box was able to merge the influences of Indian and Western music. The tabla and drums seemed to compliment one another rather than compete, and the violin added a distinct accent. The group as a whole came across as being very schooled. Although the powerful lyrics of Brothers in War and the melodies of songs like Gulch captured my interest, I thought the songs lacked one element—a hook. I wasn't able to walk away with a particular song on my head.

The energy level of Shadow Box was rather mixed. Anuj came across as the driving force of the band. He was completely engrossed in the rhythm. Laura found the opportunity to leave the stage and dance among the crowd. Omar was explosive. When he wasn't playing, he sat in his chair like the poster child for perfect posture. But when he was performing, he could not be contained; leaping over chairs, mingling in the crowd, and running up and down the stairs while playing the violin.

All things considered, I was rather impressed with Shadow Box. I will definitely make a point of catching their show again. My only complaint is that I had some difficulty understanding Laura. At the time, I was wondering if it had to do with how Shadow Box was mixed or if Laura's vocal range was simply drowned out by the instrumentation. Anuj was kind enough to send me a demo which included two studio recordings in addition to a few live recordings. I could understand her perfectly on the studio recordings of Gulch and Dos Parejas. The recordings made me thirst for a complete CD, which I hope is in the works.

If you're in the mood for a band with a flavor all it's own, get yourself familiar with Shadow Box. I guarantee you won't regret it.