Concert Reviews
VOICES Notes and news on Concert Reviews
Anjulie's Seductive Show
24 JUN 09 DAVID VIENNA
Last week, I caught the first of two performances by the amazing Anjulie at L.A.'s Viper Room. The second show, at which she will preview songs from her self-titled Hear Music debut, is tonight. You should go... unless you have a problem with sinfully seductive soul and complete badassery.
Young Anjulie's sultry voice defies her age -- powerful, focused and seemingly effortless. Quite simply, she has the chops of a veteran siren. Couple that with the fire and energy of her youth and you get a stunning blend of R&B vocal styling with inventive hip-hop instrumentations.
She slinked and blasted through tracks such as "Crazy That Way" and the thumping "Boom." She also offered up a unique take on Dead Or Alive's hit "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)." Her sparse band -- just two members, deftly working synthesizers, laptops, guitars, drum machines, and samplers -- magically recreated the sound of the album to full effect.
The pair of shows mark the end of a promotional tour in support of Anjulie, which is released Aug. 4. Until then, check out her videos for "Day Will Soon Come," "Boom" and "Love Songs" or get yourself to The Viper Room tonight if you think you can handle it.
Costello's Traveling Carnival
23 JUN 09 DAVID VIENNA
Elvis Costello played an in-store at Hollywood's famous Amoeba Records last night (video), romping through many songs from his Hear Music debut Secret, Profane And Sugarcane. Amazingly, he played another in-store at the Amoeba in San Francisco earlier that day. Both gigs featured substantial sets full of shifty characters and cheap temptation.
Costello performed with minimal accompaniment -- bluegrass powerhouses Jim Lauderdale on acoustic guitar and Mike Compton on mandolin -- which lent itself perfectly to the sound he and producer T Bone Burnett created on Sugarcane. Aside from rousing versions of cuts from the album such as "Down Among The Wine And Spirits," "My All Time Doll" and "Sulphur To Sugarcane," Costello threw in a few surprises like a reworking of his own "Blame It On Cain," The Grateful Dead's "A Friend Of The Devil" and a sort of medley that blended one of his tracks with Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away."
During the set, Costello quipped jovially with the crowd and gave the occasional tip of his hat. He's always been a showman but, with these songs conjuring up images of southern scoundrels and backwoods piano bars, he seemed even more like a carnival barker urging you to step into the funhouse, reeking of tobacco smoke and cheap booze. With a wry smile, he offers a world of shady possibilities.
He's got a handful of gigs coming up in August. See all that can be yours. All you have to do is step through his door.
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Sulphur to Sugarcane
Elvis Costello, from Secret, Profane and ...
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They Didn't Believe Me
Elvis Costello, from Marian McPartland's ...
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Not Fade Away
James Taylor, from Covers
in this playlist.
Esperanza Shines At Playboy Jazz
15 JUN 09 JONATHAN WIDRAN
An annual weather phenomenon known as "June Gloom" is one of the great natural curiosities of life in generally sunny Southern California, and this year's grey visitor hung around so many days that it even sprinkled rain the morning of June 11, the first day of the 31st Annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. Almost as if on metaphorical cue, however, the long shy sun finally emerged at the start of the sparkling, explosive set by impossibly talented, stylistically eclectic vocalist and bassist Esperanza Spalding.
She mixed songs from her wonderfully eclectic Heads Up debut Esperanza -- including the fiery, rumbling and dynamic "She Got To You," whose title says it all -- with a spunky, percussive and jazzy Wayne Shorter tune. The sun and some 18,000 jazz fans, ready to party, grooved along to her rumbling funky basslines as the petite musical powerhouse effortlessly switched off from electric to an upright that was physically bigger than her body but lovingly responsive to her precision and talent. The way she plucked and caressed (and on one graceful, classical oriented tune, bowed) her upright cut an exciting visual of musical-spiritual-emotional oneness.
Ensembling brilliantly with her backing trio of guitarist Ricardo Vogt (guitar), keyboardist Leo Genovese (brilliant in creating retro-Rhodes magic) and drummer Otis Brown, Spalding also showed off her soaring, ethereal vocals, an Ella-kissed scat singing style, multiple language skills, and an equal penchant for traditional jazz, Afro-Cuban, blues, funk, and -- reminding us that she is indeed still only 24 years old -- the hip-hop cool of her own generation. She's playing a few more dates around the country, so check her out.
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She Got To You
Esperanza Spalding, from Esperanza
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Wave
Ella Fitzgerald, from At The Montreux ...
in this playlist.
Karrin Grooves Catalina's
04 JUN 09 ANNE FARNSWORTH
Concord recording artist Karrin Allyson appeared in Los Angeles at Catalina's, to support her Grammy-nominated release, Imagina: Songs Of Brasil (which was reviewed here). Joining her for the weeklong date were three of L.A.'s finest jazz musicians -- guitarist Larry Koonse, bassist Tom Warrington and Ray Brinker on drums.
When she took the stage and launched into "A Felicidade," the first of several selections from Imagina, the chilly temperature outside was forgotten and a tropical haze took over the room. As she sang in perfectly accented Brazilian Portuguese, Allyson played a sophisticated rhythm with a small shaker, adding another layer to her trio's groove.
Speaking of grooves, although much has been written about the creamy warmth of her voice, what sets Allyson apart from other singers is her interest in rhythmic variety. When asking for audience requests, she said, almost to herself, "I'm looking for grooves, not particular songs."
Outside of the Brazilian tunes, the non-Latin selections veered away from the standard swing or ballad format. Her ballads had either slow bossa, jazz-waltz or shuffle feels. Joni Mitchell's "All I Want" was a mellow samba. Oscar Brown Jr.'s "Long As You're Living" (from her In Blue album) is in 5/4 time.
Halfway through her set, she sat at the piano and played, making it easier to set up the rhythms for the band to follow. She's a respectable pianist as well as a stellar vocalist and, dare I say, a pretty "groovy" chick. Find out for yourself. Check out her new release By Request: The Best Of Karrin Allyson.
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A Felicidade (Happiness)
Karrin Allyson, from Imagina: Songs of ...
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Long As You're Living
Karrin Allyson, from In Blue
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Hana
Joni Mitchell, from Shine
in this playlist.
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