Well, I dragged my jet-lagged self down to NYC to hear Garmarna on Wednesday night. I'd have to say I'd rather have seen them at the Decorah Elks. They were good, but the venue (the Winter Garden, basically at the foot of the World Trade Center) wasn't at all good for them. It's a cavernous atrium complete with palm trees, and there are shops and restaurants along the sides, so people are coming and going constantly and there's a lot of background noise to contend with, as well as the echo... they seemed to be struggling at times to hear one another. It was better when they were doing the noisy, way-cool stuff and rocking out than when they were trying to play the more sparse stuff. Emma Hardelin certainly sang beautifully; the weird acoustics meant that the upper range of her voice came through better than the lower. So, it was fun to see them in action and the material was beautiful, but I hope I have another chance to see them. Also, they only played for an hour; considering my journey was two hours in each direction, that seemed a bit scant, but hey, it was free.... Margaret