Jesus and the Union Hall: Retribution Gospel Choir & Ida
Though [Ida] and Low both formed in the early 90s and were quickly branded as slowcore bands (so named for there deliberately unhurried tempos, quiet melodies and sparse arrangements), over the intervening years, theyve traversed markedly different musical paths. Tuesday nights show at [Union Hall](http://unionhallny.com/), with Ida and [Retribution Gospel Choir](http://www.retributiongospelchoir.com/), the new project from [Alan Sparhawk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Sparhawk) of Low, emphasized the deeply divergent sonic directions of these longtime friends.
Ida has eased into its folk leanings with ever greater earnestness, and in the process become quieter, more reflective and gentler than ever. Tuesday nights performance was entirely intimate, with Daniel Littleton and Elizabeth Mitchell, the married singer/songwriters at its heart, crooning softly some of the songs from their newest release, Lovers Prayers, along with a few old favorites. With the help of Jean Cook on violin and harmonium, Littleton and Mitchell wooed the rapt audience, a group of obviously devoted fans who were hanging on every note, with hushed acoustic guitars and warm voices. And together, they delivered the kind of performance that tugged at every heartstring, ending with the gorgeous old favorite Maybelle, a song so moving that I couldnt stop my eyes from tearing up.
After a short break, Retribution Gospel Choir took the stage, and the group neither played gospel music (though the name Jesus did pop up with some regularity in the lyrics) nor included a choir in its midst, although retribution did seem to be a discernable theme. The trio, led by Sparhawk, whos devoted himself mainly to Low for the past decade, was a complete departure from the subtle sounds of Ida. Though Low long embraced a delicate aesthetic, the release of The Great Destroyer in 2005, with its heavy guitars and raw emotion, revealed Low doing an about-face. And with Retribution Gospel Choir, Sparhawk has channeled all the rock and roll urges that emerged on The Great Destroyer into a fiery, distortion-laden set of 70s-influenced psychedelia with echoes of Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. And surprisingly, loud, unbridled guitar squalls suit the formerly somber Sparhawk just fine. In fact, he might have found his true calling.
[Photo by Dese'Rae L. Stage]