Watch Owen Pallett reinvigorate pop music with a pair of Saturday shows

Watch Owen Pallett reinvigorate pop music with a pair of Saturday shows

Owen Pallett
(Image: David Waldman)

Owen Pallett is Canada’s most sought-after musician: he’s created orchestral arrangements for Taylor Swift and R.E.M., played strings for The National and Franz Ferdinand, and collaborated with Arcade Fire on the Oscar-nominated soundtrack for Spike Jonze’Her. Pallett’s baroque pop is intricate and innovative, forgoing traditional verse-chorus formulas for beautifully theatrical songwriting. His otherworldly soundscapes feature a limitless roster of fresh sounds: tweaked-out harpsichords, alien-like textures, and sci-fi-inspired beeps and boops. But it’s onstage that he really shines—he bounces hyperactively between instruments and effects pedals, weaving vocals and violin with an arsenal of looping machines. See him in action this Sunday at Lee’s Palace, where he’ll play back-to-back matinée and evening sets.

Sat. Jan. 31. $15. Lee’s Palace, 529 Bloor St. W., 416-532-1598, leespalace.com.