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Rare solo show by Richard Baluyut of Versus

Written by Feliza Mirasol

Thursday, 28 January 2010

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Richard Baluyut (Photo by Feliza Mirasol)

NEW YORK—Versus frontman Richard Baluyut surprised fans and friends with a solo performance Wednesday night, January 20, at the “Mixer Reading & Music Series” held once a month at the Cake Shop on 152 Ludlow Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood.

Baluyut, armed with only his electric guitar and pages of his song lyrics, played a 5-song set that included material from his former San Francisco band Whysall Lane and his recently reformed New York band Versus.

The set included fan favorites “Not a Fool” and “Pillows” (both Whysall Lane) and “Gone to Earth” (Versus, from their upcoming album on Merge Records), "Radar Follows You" (Versus, Two Cents Plus Tax), and “Frog” (Versus, K Records 7”).

Though usually seen in full band regalia these days, Baluyut gave a rare solo performance that was both refreshing and pleasing in its delicateness and simple beauty, an intriguing contrast to the band’s rock musicality. Baluyut’s set followed several literary readings by local artists, notably renowned poet and Sarah Lawrence College professor Jeffrey McDaniel.

During his set, Baluyut endearingly joked that he has a hard time remembering the lyrics to his own songs, and that seeing the other artists holding up pages during their readings was somewhat of a relief. But it was Baluyut’s performance itself that fell on the ears of an appreciative literary crowd that accepted him warmly.

Earlier this month, Versus was featured in an interview with Dan Harris for ABC News Now’s Amplified Series. Watch the interview.

Versus is currently working on a new album, expected to launch within this year.

Visit Versus on Myspace

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