When Los Angeles songstress Eleni Mandell came to the Tractor Tavern in the summer of 2007 for an early evening show in support of her last album, Miracle of Five, it seemed like she had to make her performance extra noirish and moody to compensate for all the distracting sunlight streaming in via the venues open doors. That wont be a problem this time, when she drops by the Triple Door to play songs from her new Artificial Fire, but hopefully she wont throttle down that delicious darkness which makes her such a magnetic performer. Mandells rootsy pop tunes are packed with cheaters, death, and unrequited love, and she delivers them with a voice thats got shades of Patsy Cline, Chrissie Hynde, and Cat Power in it, backed by a band that adds elegance and bite to her dusky oeuvre.
Sun., March 22, 7:30 p.m., 2009
