ROCK

Kourosh, Rosie and I made our way to Redwood City south of San Francisco earlier today to see Haale on stage at the Courthouse Square. What a wonderful venue for outdoor concerts! Haale, is a Bronx-born woman of Iranian descent whose name means the 'halo around the moon.' Her songs are trance-inducing, rhythmically propulsive, and lyrically engaging tapestries that draws on both Persian mystical and American psychedelic musical traditions. She released two mesmerizing EPs in January 2007: 'Morning' and 'Paratrooper' -- and spent the year touring across the country and in Europe, at venues such as the Bonnaroo Festival, SXSW, and the Mimi Festival in France. She has performed at David Byrne's Nonesuch-sponsored series at Carnegie Hall, recorded with Sean Lennon (on 'Before the Skies'), and shared the stage with such diverse artists as the legendary Hugh Masakela and Odetta. On her latest breathtaking full-length debut, "No Ceiling" Haale explores themes of transformation and evolution, singing in English and Persian through a riveting soundscape of percussion, psychedelic guitars, and soaring strings. Tunes at: myspace.com/haale