On February 14, Diamanda Galás performed a heart-wrenching set of piano ballads which she dubbed her “Valentine’s Day Massacre” at New York’s Knitting Factory. After a nice dinner, my girlfriend, Lisa, and I came for the late, sold out show. The venue was decked out in blue Christmas lights and foldout, wooden candlestick holders were hanging from the ceiling. The audience, composed of some couples but mostly single folk, stood before the stage reverently waiting for their dark chanteuse to seat herself at the Steinway & Sons grand piano, adorned with a white snake and a skull. A lone, fall twig was placed in the back of the stage. After her entrance seemed delayed, antsy members of the audience started demanding “Die-A-Man-Duh!”
When she appeared, Galás was dressed in a black top with her arms out and long scarves descending from her wrist guards and pants. When she opened her mouth, a low, almost manly voice bellowed out and she would work within her full spectrum as the night progressed. Sometimes she sounded raspy, sometimes her delivery was incredibly sweet, and that’s what makes Diamanda so captivating after so many years: her contrast. That’s also what made this concert work so perfectly. Although the repertoire came from her current “Guilty Guilty Guilty” concert program (consisting of “homicidal love songs and death songs,” according to her website), the contrast of songs about guilt, hubris and jealousy seemed a perfect fit for the day of love. And while she might have intended the contrast to show the silliness of this Hallmark holiday, her mere presence added a magic to the day that wouldn’t exist otherwise (she also performed a Valentine’s Massacre last year).
While she played songs such as “Autumn Leaves,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “O Death” and Edith Piaf’s “Heaven Have Mercy,” the true highlight came when she sang Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell’s blues classic, “Thrill Is Gone,” during her encore. Her brittle delivery added a new angle to the song that no one else (including B.B. King) has displayed previously. Like much of the rest of her set it sounded as beautiful as it did terrifying. And there’s no better way to end your Valentine’s night out than sharing the chills running up your spine with your loved one.
While her previous run of shows, Defixiones: Orders From The Dead, found her in long black robes, ritualistically moving from one side of the stage to the other with religious precision, it was exciting to see a more stripped down affair (snakes and skulls notwithstanding). Through the years, her voice has retained the power and intensity it always has, and it’s still releasing the terror, theatricality and inner vision that was promised on her earliest recordings. It’s too bad every show cannot be Valentine’s Day, for calling this show “Guilty Guilty Guilty” might be too lenient of a condemnation for her listeners. Best show of the year so far.