Jigsaw Soul performing About Face

Saturday, April 4
Admission: $15, $10 minimum
Showtime: 7:30pm
reservations are recommended

Having sold out every show in NYC since May of 2008, Jigsaw Soul bring their unique pairing of visual and auditory spectacle to the intimate setting of Monkeytown. This Brooklyn based indie music whirlwind incorporates original film and modern dance with well constructed, highly moving songs. The performance is entitled "About Face", and is a crafted collection of songs from the band's back catalog sewn together with new original pieces to create a story line that maps the path of one individual's internal struggle and subsequent personal growth as it relates to the whole.

Making frequent use of audience participation via sing-alongs and percussive jams, the event will feature an eclectic mix of heady visuals, modern and aerial dancing, group chants and fluid psychedelic pieces written and played live by the band.

More Information:
jigsawsoul.com
http://www.myspace.com/jigsawsoul

“Aural Cinematography Is Dancing In Your Head”
Eclectic in every way, Brooklyn's Jigsaw Soul make music that draws on a wide array of influences, yet avoids the pitfall of sounding like an imitation act. Perhaps owing to the fact that the group is comprised of five songwriters who have long standing friendships and a commitment to the crafting of a good song, they are able to piece together seemingly disparate elements, delivering fascinating juxtapositions that maintain a respect for traditional song structure but are not held slave to it.

Just as likely to reference modern composers like Phillip Glass and Ennio Morricone as jazz chanteuse Nina Simone or the psychedelic rock of Pink Floyd's "Ummagumma," the band also dabble with an assortment of ethnic folk music. Combining traditional rock instrumentation with other less explored sounds, theirs is a vividly imaginative world where tribal vocal chants dance with the propulsive squeals of a Theremin, Japanese Taiko drums are sampled and paired with vocal harmonies reminiscent of a medieval minstrel and ringing bells punctuate soaring guitar melodies. The music's feel is most often meditative but several songs increase in force, slowly adding layer upon layer of atmosphere that ultimately envelops and haunts the listener.
The lyrical themes in Jigsaw's songs explore from several writer's perspectives the roller-coaster ride that life in our modern world can often be, running the gamut from a lust for life and the joy of new experiences, to feelings of exhaustion and intense alienation. Never veering too far in either direction, balancing optimism with keen observation, these songs weave their stories of life's ebb and flow. Clever enough to realize that the music can be just as effective in the telling of the story as the words, Jigsaw Soul uses both elements to full effect and in a manner that is both organic and spiritual.

Jigsaw's eclecticism is intriguingly perpetuated in their live show, where modern dance and live video editing collide with the music to create an otherworldly spectacle of sound and vision. As one fluid unit, all of the art forms play off of each other’s dynamics, the performers use a hybrid of choreography and improvisation to deliver an allegorical compliment to the words and music. Alternately bombastic and enchanting, Jigsaw Soul is a live experience you will never forget.

Top photo by Raul Cotos Batres, antiqued by Ruth Arnold of Lucid Revolution. All other photos by Ruth Arnold of Lucid Revolution.