you strike a certain chord in the thick of me
So, as some of you know, I've been itching for a good concert for a while now. I haven't seen anything since the Tegan & Sara/Death Cab concert in OCTOBER. I was supposed to go see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs last month, but that didn't work out (CRY). But anyway, I finally got out and saw three local acts last Friday night!
All three acts were female singers, but with varying sounds. Anna Ash opened up, and she had a very light-hearted sound and an absolutely gorgeous voice. Laurel Premo came second, with a more folksy sound (she played the banjo in a couple songs, and even the dobro at some point). Charlene Kaye ended the night with a mostly pop/rock feel. The best part though, is all three girls mixed it up by doing duets and trios with each other. Each one's set had at least one song featuring another, which allowed for a mixing of their sounds that worked out really well.
I unfortunately didn't get to hear all of Anna Ash's set, but what I did hear was pretty awesome. Laurel Premo guested some guitar skills for a couple songs, and it brought a little bounce and energy to Anna's light, sunny voice.
Second up was Laurel Premo, who did a great job getting the audience moving with her upbeat, folky sounds. I'm not a particularly fond of banjos or bluegrass influences in general, but it worked really well with the drums and upright bass she had backing her up. For one of my favorite songs, "Woods That I Know," she brought Charlene Kaye up for a collaboration - Laurel on banjo and Charlene on guitar, with both singing. For another song, which I believe was a cover, she brought both other girls up to join her, and their voices meshed incredibly well. I ended up buying Laurel's album, but from my listening so far, it seems much more subdued than she sounded live.
From left to right, Charlene on guitar, Anna singing, and Laurel leading on guitar:
Finally, Charlene came up. She was the only one of the three I had heard before that night, and I was really impressed with her live sound. A lot of her recorded music is softer and more complex with a larger assortment of instruments backing her up for a classical influence. I wondered how that would work out live, since clearly it'd be a little hard to have violins and such on the small stage with her. It ended up making her sound a lot more vibrant and pop-y, which worked great live. I really enjoyed her performance, and she had excellent stage presence. My favorite songs were "Strike a Chord" and "Amber Light" - but there are a few favorites from her CD she didn't play.
Charlene with her band. She did bring a trumpet player up for a couple songs:
But the absolute BEST PART of the night was the closing number. Charlene brought Laurel and Anna back up and they did a cover of WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN. If you don't know, I'm somewhat obsessed with that song. I don't even know why. But! Seriously! It's like they did it JUST FOR ME. I ended up recording the whole thing, in case anyone wants to see. Obviously, my camera isn't the best sound quality - so trust me, it sounded much more epic in real life. Also, you probably wouldn't have heard me and Naomi singing along to the "WAY OH WAY OH" bit :/ She even offered for anyone to feel free and come up on stage to walk like an Egyptian with them, and I TOTALLY WOULD HAVE, if I weren't recording this.
Overall, I really enjoyed the concert and think all three were wonderful. But, I liked Charlene Kaye the best, and I think she's definitely the most accessible of the three, so I recommend her to all of you. I bought her CD as well, and I definitely find her innovative and moving. She's got a great combination of classical, pop, and rock influences. I've embedded her latest music video below, and she has a few songs up on her myspace (linked above). Check her out! I hope you all enjoy it.
I might be going to the Metric concert tonight too, depending on certain circumstances. It'd be really awesome if that works out, but maybe a little awkward since it'd be with people I don't know that well. We'll see I guess!
ETA: Nevermind, tickets sold out already. Haha, oops!
ETA 2: Nevermind the nevermind! My friend had an extra ticket :D
All three acts were female singers, but with varying sounds. Anna Ash opened up, and she had a very light-hearted sound and an absolutely gorgeous voice. Laurel Premo came second, with a more folksy sound (she played the banjo in a couple songs, and even the dobro at some point). Charlene Kaye ended the night with a mostly pop/rock feel. The best part though, is all three girls mixed it up by doing duets and trios with each other. Each one's set had at least one song featuring another, which allowed for a mixing of their sounds that worked out really well.
I unfortunately didn't get to hear all of Anna Ash's set, but what I did hear was pretty awesome. Laurel Premo guested some guitar skills for a couple songs, and it brought a little bounce and energy to Anna's light, sunny voice.
Second up was Laurel Premo, who did a great job getting the audience moving with her upbeat, folky sounds. I'm not a particularly fond of banjos or bluegrass influences in general, but it worked really well with the drums and upright bass she had backing her up. For one of my favorite songs, "Woods That I Know," she brought Charlene Kaye up for a collaboration - Laurel on banjo and Charlene on guitar, with both singing. For another song, which I believe was a cover, she brought both other girls up to join her, and their voices meshed incredibly well. I ended up buying Laurel's album, but from my listening so far, it seems much more subdued than she sounded live.
From left to right, Charlene on guitar, Anna singing, and Laurel leading on guitar:
Finally, Charlene came up. She was the only one of the three I had heard before that night, and I was really impressed with her live sound. A lot of her recorded music is softer and more complex with a larger assortment of instruments backing her up for a classical influence. I wondered how that would work out live, since clearly it'd be a little hard to have violins and such on the small stage with her. It ended up making her sound a lot more vibrant and pop-y, which worked great live. I really enjoyed her performance, and she had excellent stage presence. My favorite songs were "Strike a Chord" and "Amber Light" - but there are a few favorites from her CD she didn't play.
Charlene with her band. She did bring a trumpet player up for a couple songs:
But the absolute BEST PART of the night was the closing number. Charlene brought Laurel and Anna back up and they did a cover of WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN. If you don't know, I'm somewhat obsessed with that song. I don't even know why. But! Seriously! It's like they did it JUST FOR ME. I ended up recording the whole thing, in case anyone wants to see. Obviously, my camera isn't the best sound quality - so trust me, it sounded much more epic in real life. Also, you probably wouldn't have heard me and Naomi singing along to the "WAY OH WAY OH" bit :/ She even offered for anyone to feel free and come up on stage to walk like an Egyptian with them, and I TOTALLY WOULD HAVE, if I weren't recording this.
Click to viewOverall, I really enjoyed the concert and think all three were wonderful. But, I liked Charlene Kaye the best, and I think she's definitely the most accessible of the three, so I recommend her to all of you. I bought her CD as well, and I definitely find her innovative and moving. She's got a great combination of classical, pop, and rock influences. I've embedded her latest music video below, and she has a few songs up on her myspace (linked above). Check her out! I hope you all enjoy it.
I might be going to the Metric concert tonight too, depending on certain circumstances. It'd be really awesome if that works out, but maybe a little awkward since it'd be with people I don't know that well. We'll see I guess!
ETA: Nevermind, tickets sold out already. Haha, oops!
ETA 2: Nevermind the nevermind! My friend had an extra ticket :D