There are few things I'd rather do than listen to Shilpa Ray sing. The petite frontwoman of Brooklyn band Beat the Devil happens to have one of the most powerful, bluesy and beautiful voices around, which she accompanies with a swirling harmonium. Last night Shilpa appeared solo at Monkeytown, singing a few Beat the Devil songs as well as some of her own. Her voice, coupled with the amazing visuals of old movie footage smeared in neon colors, made for a kind of 1920s southern gothic musical.

One of the first times I saw Beat the Devil was at the South Street Seaport, where tourists milled around as the group's blues-infused punk blared out at them, including one song where Shilpa screamed/wailed the word "fuck" repeatedly (just another sunny day on the boardwalk, kiddies!). Last night was a chance to hear Shilpa's voice filled with a new sense of fragility, as much as her throaty delivery will allow. The song "I'm not frigid yet", about a "dry spell," was fun, but my favorites were the woozy, old-timey ballads, in which Shilpa's wide open delivery blurred most lines past recognition. The pure uniqueness of her voice and performance keeps sentiments like "I fell in love and forgot my own mother" from sounding trite. Instead, these lines sound the way they're meant to: sad, and wonderful.

After Shilpa, Forest Fire were up. Since Monkeytown is really a film screening venue, there's no stage per se, just the empty space between the rows of seats and tables lined beneath four screens. I counted six band members crammed into this space (and I wasn't drunk, promise): two guitarists, a drummer, a sax player, a singer and a keyboardist. A kind of southern rock/grunge act, Forest Fire builds noise only to quickly extinguish it, making room for various lyrics/directives, like "Slow motion!" or "Make windows!". Though the sax was slightly off for many of the tracks, the air of mardi gras the band brought with them was more than welcome. I hope to see them another day, ideally outdoors in the summer with enough room to dance (a better sound set-up would be good, too).

Many of the shorts and visuals Monkeytown puts on are amazing, including this piece, about a Russian fox and a guardian angel who saves him from the cold.