When I noticed that Gaptooth (moniker for Margaret Haesler) was playing a Ryan Pollie and Make Out Music collaboration night at The Fable, I was eager to catch the set. Though this was my first time seeing her, the moniker did ring a bell as she had shared a bill with Adriana McCassim earlier in the year and I had mentioned the night on my Show Alert post for that week.
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| Gaptooth at The Fable |
One of the first things I noticed was that when she was about to start off her set, someone in the audience gave a distinct "Shh." There was a command in the request for quiet, but Gaptooth's floating vocals was the reason the set captured the undivided attention of the crowd. In fact, she herself noticed it as she mentioned soon into her set, "You're being very polite and I appreciate that." Later in the set, she was perhaps overwhelmed by the hushed nature of the crowd, "You're so respectful, you're making me uneasy."
She performed a solo set, switching between an acoustic guitar and keyboards. She gave us some tidbits about her life through the set. She works as a nanny of a nine month old. She mentioned how she has a connection with the infant as that they both get overly emotional when tired. That weariness may have added poignant charm to the night. Her song "Bear Hunt" has the following lyrics, "I promised my dad I'd get some rest."
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| Gaptooth at The Fable |
There was also mention that a debut album is about to get released into the world. Her setlist primarily focus on the new songs from the album that "span the last ten years of my life." She said that the album was produced by Michael Stevenson of Small Forward (I recently wrote a Song Spotlight of one of their songs.)
Comment of the set, "Has anyone been to Gallup, NM?" One lone person responded that they had. In my notes, I wrote down the title of the song, "Gallup, New Mexico," but then I started to think about it. Gallup? Did I mishear the name of the city and she actually said Taos? I had a brief conversion with her and did learn that she was talking about Gallup, NM. What is Gallup, New Mexico known for, you may ask? My Internet research indicates it is the center of the Native American world of arts and jewelry.
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| Gaptooth at The Fable |
The song spotlight goes to "Funhouse," which is the only song of the setlist that is currently released. She provided another tidbit about her life for the song, which is that she grew up in Vermont. The song is a tribute to rural life. I do appreciate artists who show love for their small hometown. Alaska Reid is another singer who loves her upbringing in Montana and has written songs about her memories of the country fair.
Haesler played the song on the keyboard. Her first line of lyrics are "Good morning, from the county fair." It is a song about trying to find your true self in the country fair's hall of mirrors and success still off in the future.
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| Gaptooth at The Fable |
I'm getting lost.
Though on this night the set was solo, the recording of the song has me flashbacking to a favorite Los Angeles band circa 2011, Milo Greene.
Setlist: Death Grip. Bear Hunt. Funhouse. Gallup, NM. Million Dollars. Untitled TBD.
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