To start off with, I missed opening act Liam Finn in the name of eating dumplings on Eldridge Street. The dumplings were delicious, and for this I am truly sorry. I've consoled myself by listening to the New Zealand singer-songwriter's music here.

I did get to Bowery Ballroom in time to see Finn walk off the stage, as Laura Veirs walked on shortly after. Who knew Bowery could be on time? Veirs is from Portland, OR and is on a mini-east coast tour, playing completely alone, no singing partner or backup guitar (she usually plays with a band called the Saltbreakers). With just Veirs onstage, the show was quiet and intimate; her folk-inspired pop songs and guitar backing had a minimalist-bent, the focus of each most squarely on the lyrics.

Veirs reminded me of Jolie Holland, who played recently at Union Pool, though Holland has a fuller voice and her songs are bluesier. Both live on the West Coast (Holland lives in SF), and Veirs, like Holland, gave a shoutout to blues musician Elizabeth Cotten. Veirs sang a version of Cotten's "Freight Train", making the sad, moody song sound lighter.

One of the night's memorable moments was Veirs's song about Obama, in which she repeated "Obama" into a loop, asking "Isn't he handsome, isn't he smart?" It was a weird departure. The song "Cast a Hook in Me" had a tumbling, energized chorus, which shook the slow pace up a bit. And "Magnetized", a sad, earnest love song with the lyrics, "Black tattoos burn, brand my memory", strained Veirs's voice in an appealing way (this Youtube version has the added benefit of a piano mid-way upping the ante a bit).

A slightly more accurate depiction of what Veirs looked like to me by the end of the night...

A Veirs fan sits it out; for once Bowery wasn't crowded.