When the doors opened I proceeded to lay out fliers to the upcoming MUSIC RISE event occurring at VideoRanch 3d on Memorial Day weekend. I chatted with a lot of folks and encouraged them to check it out, because Thao would be performing again that weekend and they'd get to see her again! I then strategically took a seat on a tall stool at a tall table near what I thought was close to the stage. After a few minutes I was joined by who I was to discover later to be the opening act, Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers. I chatted with them. Very cool young people. I thought they were students. Well, not Samantha. I knew who she was. Before long she was introduced to the crowd and the show was under way!
I had no idea what to expect. She's fantastic. I'll leave it to more clever and capable authors to describe her terrific voice and bright melodies. Instead, I'll post a sample:
After her set, I went and bought the CD. She also autographed it with a silver marker. We had a nice chat. Her band, Midnight Shivers is from SouthEast Missouri. I told her I went to high school there. I must say that in my conversation and subsequent emails with her, I found Samantha to be warm, friendly and most gracious. As an artist and a person, you'd be blessed to come to know her! To that end, please check out this video too!
I watched the next band set up and tune up. A woman and a man seemed to be sharing the chore. It looked like they had a lot of guitars, and a couple of basses. During the show, though, I only noticed a Les Paul, and upside-down left-handed Stratocaster and a red (Gibson?) bass guitar. Most of those guitars were played by Mr. Patrick Gregoire. Mr. Nico Dann was the master on percussion (including a very effective wood block). Ms. Merrill Garbus played the bass once, but usually she played ukulele. There was no "front man" as far as I could see. Each musician contributed equally to vocals and musicianship. It even seemed sometimes that the sounds each sang didn't become a complete word until all three added their part.
Did I say ukulele? Yes. I looked, wiped my glasses, peered intently and each time I kept arriving at the same conclusion. A ukulele! Now I don't know much about ukuleles, but this was NOT Aloha Oe. My ears were certain they were hearing something that might have been performed by Jimmy Page.
Sister Suvi are unconventional. What at first seems chaotic reveals itself to be very methodical and precise. When I saw Merrill perform with Thao it rather sealed my perception that here was a real creative power house. I've been listening to their CD and they've really been growing on me. Check out this video and head to their website or MySpace page. And give them a few more listens. See if each listening doesn't increase your fondness for them.
I've posted before about Thao. It's no secret I'm her biggest fan. But Tuesday night's show was the BEST I have ever seen! After The Get Down Stay Down Percussion Orchestra joined Sister Suvi for a number, Thao went back and changed from jeans to a very pretty blue dress. I've spoken of her writing. Of her melodies. Of her guitar playing and her singing. But she was so đẹp quá! So lovely. And then she started rockin'! The crowd had come to see her and everyone was on their feet (and my strategic position turned out to be not so strategic after all). After the first applause to the first song died down, Thao was doing some fine tuning to her guitar and a hush seem to fall over the lounge. She asked, "Are you guys studying?". lol. So they got their Geography lesson!
Between each song the crowd kept hollering for songs off Linen. She asked if we really just wanted to hear the songs she wrote when she was 16 or did we want to hear some new stuff. We did hear a few new songs, but she played a lot of the old favorites too.nevermytuesday
Thao was so funny about the encore. The band exited the stage but only stepped a few feet away. There was no "backstage" here. But she came on and said, "We heard you all the way backstage!" She wondered what would've happened if we hadn't been so enthusiastic in our insistence on an encore! Would they just march back on stage and make us listen to a few more songs?
The show ended with a tremendously wild grand finale! Thao invited Sister Suvi and Samanth Crain & the Midnight Shivers to join her in FEET ASLEEP
God I love Thao.
No comments:
Post a Comment