An Unquiet Grave | Blue Stockings
The full moon in Taurus shines bright over the city as I make way to The Station for An Unquiet Grave and the chaos of the early morning’s lunar eclipse still vibrates through the air. This is my third Halloween event of the spooky season and my third time dressing as a witch. My look this time is more subtle; a reference to Sally Owens in 1998s Practical Magic (my favourite film of all time). So, you’ll understand my delight upon entering the venue and feeling as though I have stepped into a scene from the film. The ambience is perfect; low light, candles lit, witchy music, and witchy people in witchy outfits. Less delightful was a couple of technical issues that delayed the start of the event but we’re going to blame that on the eclipse.
The first act of the night is Luminesce, an experimental strings ensemble that pride themselves on presenting boundary pushing music in boundary pushing ways, and the ladies of Luminescence were indeed luminous. They push the inherent spookiness of strings to its full potential. The set was haunting and melancholy and in the best way. Perhaps the spookiest thing about the set, however, was the small magic unfolding between the four as they played. The intensity of their connection to each other as they communicated through breath and pointed looks and (of course) the music. Each musician loses herself to the music but thanks to this connection they find themselves lost in the same place. This stellar set ends with a rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and it was indeed thrilling.
Up next of the night’s headliners Blue Stockings, a performance duo specialising chamber and art-folk music that also seeks to push the boundaries of these forms. If the Practical Magic-esque whimsigothic vibes weren’t already strong, Blue Stockings certainly solidifies them. The pair literally looks as though the Owens sisters themselves decided to move to so-called Australia and make a career in music, and it’s the exact kind of music you would expect from witches of the small craft. The combination of classical guitar and opera-style vocals lends itself quite naturally to the spooky season and the incorporation of reverb and other effects intensities this deliciously. However, the duo’s most impressive performance of the night was their rendition of the folk song The Cruel Mother which calls for the juggling of clean harmonies while singing acapella, intricate body percussion, and lyrics that are just repetitive enough to be cyclical but just varied enough to be mixed up while focusing on the previous two elements. The two perform it with ease and to raucous applause from the audience. I will admit, I anticipated at least one Stevie Nicks or Fleetwood Mac song to be included in the set list but I’m almost glad there weren’t any. These witches know their stuff and they make it abundantly clear.
These two powerhouse groups come together for a few songs to close the night and to see these two well-oiled musical machines come together to form a mega-machine was a true pleasure. The audience was so enchanted by these women and their music that they demanded and encore, and they got one. The final song of the night was NAME’s Season of the Witch, it was a beautiful rendition and a song choice I can only describe as correct.
All-in-all An Unquiet Grave was a hypnotising evening of music and magic featuring six women making phenomenal music together. The birth of musical coven perhaps? Either way, I made my way home humming folk tunes to myself and craving midnight margaritas (if you know, you know).
