Nasimiyu at Pianos

Nasimiyu Murumba may be from the frozen North but she sure absorbed New Orleans pretty thoroughly.  Supposedly she learned songwriting there while working with brass bands and street performers.  While her singing sounds a lot like those pop-soul singers who occasionally cross over into the mainstream, the jazz and funk influences she picked up make her music something special.  I can't say for a fact that she has a unique blend of styles, but I can sure say that I hadn't heard anything quite like this before and really liked it.

Posted: 2/9/2014 at 3:11pm     Tags: album release  Nasimiyu  Pianos 

Nobunny at Baby's All Right

I have been a little bit disappointed with some of Nobunny's more recent albums, but damn is he ever a great live performer.  So many of the songs which seem a little too mellow on record take on new life when he's belting them out in person.  Unless you're deathly afraid of dirty kleenex you should go see him live.  Soooo much fun!

Posted: 2/9/2014 at 3:10pm     Tags: Baby's All Right  blue  Nobunny 

Gary Wilson at Issue Project Room

Now this is the kind of show I was expecting. I do like seeing a performer out this much effort into their performance. Singing and playing piano well is great but we can always buy the album (and any real artist puts plenty of effort into those too, right?) This was a spectacle. I have no clue what it means.  I am completely puzzled.  But at least for once there is a puzzle for me to solve.

Posted: 2/1/2014 at 5:05pm     Tags: Gary Wilson  Issue Project Room 

R Stevie Moore at Issue Project Room

I have to say that given R. Stevie Moore's reputation I was expecting something weirder than this.  To be fair this was a solo performance.  His full-band show the next night was supposedly more theatrical.

This particular performance reminded of hearing Allen Ginsberg back in the 90s, when he released that music video and was doing readings of his poems alongside regular rock concerts.  He had backing musicians but the performance wasn't about the music.  Now, R. Stevie Moore certainly is about the music.  My point is that in this particular performance was so stripped down that it approached the style of a poet putting his words to music.  I suppose could have compared him to someone like Gil Scott Heron instead but with that hair and those glasses I had no choice but to go with Ginsberg.

Posted: 2/1/2014 at 4:34pm     Tags: Issue Project Room  R Stevie Moore 

Sweet Soubrette at Pianos

At some point in the evening I got the impression of attending an early Valentine's Day show.  The overwhelming red-ness of the place may have had something to do with that, but also the fact that Sweet Soubrette's new album features so many songs about desire.  Not really love songs, mind you.  They were more like songs about longing (see "Be My Man", "Sweet Time") or about relationships under stress ("Just Your Heart", "Rock Paper Scissors", and perhaps "What's My Desire?").  So it wasn't really a romantic evening, though the fervent "Live Wire" certainly added a dash of heat to the mix.

It is probably safe to say that classic love songs have never been Sweet Soubrette's thing.  Returning to the themes of her first album, most of the songs on "Burning City" are about the dramatic moments in relationships, the moments when things are not quite as they should be.  However the new album has a definite optimistic streak.  This time you get the feeling that some of those relationships might just work out.  For once there is an honest-to-goodness (implied) happy ending in the song "Port in a Storm".  Well that's new.

Posted: 1/27/2014 at 9:58pm     Tags: album release  Pianos  red  Sweet Soubrette