Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2011

Photo by Kevin Mcgue

Music fans in Tokyo tonight were treated to what is unfortunately becoming an increasingly rare experience—an intimate, heartfelt performance by an internationally touring musician played to a large, packed house.

Gregory and the Hawk (born Meredith Godreau) bounced out onto the Liquidroom stage, which suddenly seemed far too large for a “band” with only one member. She sat on a folding chair stage center, picked up a small harp and cradled it in her lap before mumbling to herself that she would use it later, and switched to an acoustic guitar, while managing to summon up enough Japanese to thank the audience for listening.

It seemed like a situation prime for disaster. The venue was packed to the rafters with people there to see energetic, seven-member post-rock headliners Mice Parade, and a solo acoustic performance might only try their patience. But as soon as Godreau started to sing, she had the crowd in palm of her hand.

As this was a performance by an artist who has never granted a single print interview since starting her career via MySpace in 2003, the audience hung on every little bit of chatter between songs. Godreau said she was happy to be back in Tokyo (she joined Asian Kung-Fu Generation’s Nano-Mugen event in 2009), and also mentioned that she had seen fellow New Yorkers Blonde Redhead the night before.

She continued on the guitar, playing “Boats and Birds,” the song of hers that comes closest to qualifying as a “hit,” inspiring numerous fan covers on YouTube. Although her speaking voice borders on squeaky, Godreau proved her range and ability to hit low, full tones when needed.

She then returned to the harp to sing a new, as-yet-unrecorded song. No title was given, but the lyrics mentioned “skull tattoos, drawn on with ballpoint pen,” evoking the childlike innocence that pervades the work of an artist whose stage name refers to her younger brother and his childhood imaginary pet. The spell she cast over the audience was like that of one child telling a story to a group of other kids. But story time ended a bit too soon, and then the kids were ready to get rowdy with Mice Parade.