It pays to live in Low's home town. On Friday, March 30 locals were lucky enough to experience the band performing a work originally commissioned for the Organ Reframed festival at London's Union Chapel back in October and only performed twice since, in Amsterdam and at SXSW. Duluth's Sacred Heart Music Center, with its renowned Felgemaker organ, served as the perfect venue for this special show, the seats turned to face the balcony. The performance was a benefit for the Friends of the Felgemaker and Churches United in Ministry.
Local musician Ingeborg von Agassiz opened the show, performing songs from her new album O Giver of Dreams.
While bassist and keyboardist Steve Garrington played the desanctified church's famous organ, his face reflected in its mirror, Mimi Parker and Al Sparhawk sang, accompanied by gentle electronic beats. The performance was rich in religious symbolism; the couple passed an apple back and forth before Sparhawk took a bite. He later poured water from one glass into another where it changed color, turning into "wine."
The band ended the night with a few old favorites, including "Plastic Cup" and "Breaker," before Parker and Sparhawk left the balcony, pulling out the organ stops on their way out on either side, leaving Garrington alone to finish the show with an organ crescendo.
The audience for the sold-out show, facing the balcony.
