Listening to Lazarus' music, the most common reaction is "Oh my god, I'm so depressed!" This is dark, dark shit. Lazarus, the Temporary Residence troubadour, writes very sad songs and sings them in a gasping, world-weary warble. I saw Lazarus, a.k.a. Trevor Montgomery (formerly of Tarentel), open for Explosions in the Sky at a sold out show a year or so ago. My first three reactions were 1.) is that guy like seven feet tall? 2.) where did everyone go? and 3.) this is amazing.

The extremely tall Montgomery has quite a presence on stage... the kind of presence that makes you wonder if this giant is going to flip out on you (in retrospect, he turns out to be a giant of the gentle variety). His music is not for everyone, as the mass exodus of Explosion fans to the bars and bathrooms attests. But for those of us who stuck out the stripped-down, acoustic despair, it was definitely a set that won't be forgotten. It sort of haunts me. It's hard to explain I guess, so just go see him play. Then you can tell me what you think. You may hate it and you may love it. Wth Lazarus, the only possibly reaction is extreme. Because he's real. Now how many rock stars can you say that about?

Lazarus plays the Knitting Factory Tap Bar, Sunday, February 27th.