Thursday, April 27, 2006

Review - Chick Singer Night at the Bitter End - 4/25/06

Ok, so before I post, let me say it’s always a new experience the first time you hear someone you know perform songs in a professional setting. Sure, I've heard This Thing Called Life at least 9,123 times, yet it doesn't prepare you to hear the music come out of your friend instead of out of a boom box/car stereo.

So, I went to see Genevieve perform at the Bitter End this week…a performance I was mondo-excited for, never having seen Genevieve live.

Standing on a stage that has housed such luminaries as Bob Dylan and Spinal Tap, Gen went on second of the four “chicks” performing, immediately after the evening's hostess. She only had three songs to win over the crowd, so in the American Idol sense, song selection was of top importance.

Before I go on, I should note that the backup band was pretty sharp, but they had just received the final copies of their music a couple of minutes earlier. That led to a slow start to “So Good For Me”, but I mean, it was like two seconds of “So Good For Me “ that sounded slow.

I thought this was a good song to start with, as the musician that preceded Gen was pretty much a straight folk singer with some light pop mixed in and this really showed the difference between Gen and someone who doesn’t have her voice or the diversity of music stylings. Gen nailed the song and pretty much had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand for her next two.

Second was, “I Left the Light On,” which I have to think will be the most recognizable song on the album. It’s also my wife’s favorite, so it got an air clap from the cheering section.

Now this was the song that moved me on Tuesday. I’ve always felt that this particular song is an extremely emotional and mature song, so it’s got to be done perfectly or it loses the effect. Fortunately, it was done perfectly, so no problems there.

Then there was a short break while Gen went over to the piano where she performed “This Little Thing” with just her and a keyboard. No backup band for that one. Of course my reaction was, “Gen can play the piano,” which got me that “I can’t believe I married such an ignoramus” look. Or maybe that was allergies.

Now this song was poignantly done and it was impressive to see her play keyboards and sing but for me “I Left the Light On” and “So Good For Me” are songs higher on my favorites list so I was just more charged to hear those songs.

After she was done and received all of the cheers and flowers, the hostess noted what a well-behaved audience we were; having hung on Genevieve's every word during her set. All I can say is its easy to pay attention when the performance is that good.

(Special thanks to Nick, who noticed that my links on the right weren't working. They do now.)

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