Concert Review: CocoRosie

Friday night's show with CocoRosie and Antony and the Johnsons at Great American Music Hall felt like a night at the underground opera. More than a few audience members came dressed in costume, with jaunty hats, face paint and all manner of fancy plumage adorning their frocks. The capacity crowd was fervent in their love for Antony, yet they were quiet and respectful, not uttering a word during either performance. In fact, the only distraction came from the wait staff snaking through the maze of tables and chairs to fulfill drink orders.

CocoRosie's set began with a projection of animated characters on the screen centerstage. The footage consisted of old Care Bears cartoons morphed into a psychedelic montage. The twisted innocence of the images was a fitting backdrop to CocoRosie's music. Sisters Bianca and Sierra Casady, who have toured with Bright Eyes and Devendra Banhart, took the stage along with a guest percussionist and launched into their set without introduction. Bianca's voice is feline, childlike, creaky and endearing, not unlike Joanna Newsom's. Sierra, a trained opera singer, has a voice that is echoing, pure, and majestic. As they traded lead vocals back and forth, the contrast was stark, but when they harmonized together their voices melded and they truly sounded like sisters. Each played a variety of instruments during the show, including piano, acoustic guitar, flute and percussion, often backed by staticky samples and pre-recorded beats. The sisters grew up apart and reunited just a few years ago in Paris on a whim. There is an element of their music that is precious and contains the thrill of (re)discovery, perhaps inspired by their long-lost sisterhood.