Holly Miranda Covers Yoko Ono, Duets With Kyp Malone in New York

Although her largest headlining tour to date was just a six-day affair along the East Coast, Brooklyn dream-pop songwriter Holly Miranda capped off her largest hometown show to date in grand fashion. On Wednesday at New York's Bowery Ballroom, she covered Etta James' 'I'd Rather Go Blind,' a staple in her set, with exquisite vocal range. She also took on Yoko Ono's 'Nobody Sees Me Like You Do' confidently, as if she'd been playing this for years, perhaps even as if it was her own tune and not one from the high priestess of peace.

That's telling as to where Miranda's at currently -- after releasing her solo debut, 'The Magician's Private Library,' this past February, she's been honing her skills while on tour with Tegan and Sara. Her backing band is spot on, particularly on a new song called 'Mark My Words,' where Miranda utters the phrase "for you" over and over. Structurally, it's one of her odder songs, with an arrangement that shifts tempos around in a somewhat Radiohead-like fashion -- scatterbrained, but controlled.

Most of her set was augmented by a small horn section, making 'Joints' and 'Forest Green Oh Forest Green' sound explosive and dynamic. To welcome her home, TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone came up to help out with vocal duties on 'Slow Burn Treason.' It felt like it was supposed to be a duet, but Miranda, as she did all night, stole the spotlight: vocally, visually in a pink dress and as a perfectly shred-happy guitarist. For those PJ Harvey fans waiting for a new record, Miranda's live show has a similar flare, where she's poised and confident, seemingly well beyond her years in both demeanor and musicianship.

Miranda's set concluded with a stage sing-along, where she was joined by opening acts Grooms and Class Actress, Malone and Nicole Atkins, among others, to provide a backing choir effect on another new song called 'Pelican Rapids,' which is about "the right to marry whoever the f--- you want." Again, even with a large cast surrounding her, Miranda's voice overpowered them all, filling up the Ballroom in what initially started as an a cappella-like tune then morphed into another explosive guitar jam, with Miranda bearing down the chords like a woman possessed, in the best way possible.

'The Magician's Private Library' is out now on XL Records.