ACOUSTIC SHOW IN TONE'S LIVING ROOM
NICO APPLE
This college-age-looking girl was shy as can be. Dolled up in a skirt and tights, sporting adorable glasses, she hid behind her guitar in a frightened manner. But she had no need for this because her voice was dripping of sweet honey and crisp sugar. Her guitar playing mimicked her unconfident demeanor in dynamic, but laced perfectly with her gorgeous voice. An amazing performance, I must say.
THE IRRELEPHANTS
I have never—in my entire life—seen ukulele with rap. However, I can no longer say that thanks to the Irrelephants. This duo (plus one) played upbeat rock tunes coupling a guitar with a ukulele, and adding their voices to harmonize. This band had a fabulous use of rests, and utilized the spaces to their advantage, making their rhythms and sounds more unique than they already were. Some of you may be asking, so where does rap come in? Well…in the middle of the performance, an “audience member” began pressing the band to impromptu rap; the band continuously shot down the idea. Finally, they “relented” and allowed the “audience member” to “make up a rap on the spot” that somehow magically matched perfectly with the song in the background. Although it was planned out, and the rapper was a friend, and the rap was pre-written, it still awed the crowd (and me). I can guarantee that none of you have ever heard music like this, and I can promise that if you do not look this band up and listen to their music, you are depriving yourself of exposure to a new and awesome music style. I suggest you take out whatever procrastination device that you possess, and use it immediately to listen to this band. This band falls between musicians and comedians, but not dirty like Steel Panther.
CLAIRE TERESA PUCKETT
Mimicking the shyness of Miss Apple, Ms. Claire Puckett took the stage in a way that was not really taking the stage, but more so resembled being forced to walk the plank as if the crowd was a sea of angry alligators. Of course, she clearly bested this fear and began to tell the crowd of the terrible cold that had plagued her for weeks on tour with her band (Mother Falcon) and how, through it all, she came to perform with us tonight. Upon hearing this story, I became apprehensive seeing as how I was expecting a hoarse and squeaky sick-person voice (sounding somewhat like how I sing on a good day). This concern became irrelevant (not irrelephant) when she opened her mouth and poured forth a soothing soprano river of words that melted into the air and mixed with our breath and awe. She wowed everyone piled into Tone’s living room eating empanadas and sitting cross-legged on a Parisian-esque carpet. Her original tunes were creative and touching; her solo work is in fact available for purchase. If you have time, please take it to look at some of her work, it will indeed shock you as it did me. In fact, I was so impressed that I went that next Wednesday to see Mother Falcon perform at the ECHO (and was equally impressed).
THE UNENDING THREAD
Having seen The Unending Thread perform before, I was under the impression that I would know what to expect. Clearly, I am not to be trusted based on my assumptions. Because this was an acoustic performance, The Unending Thread was—obviously—acoustic. The drummer used an un-plugged speaker and a conga drum for percussion, and that really was the only acoustic part other than the mellowed-down-ness of their songs (I am almost 100% positive that is not a word). When I saw TUT for the first time (at The Troubadour), the girl lead singer seemed overwhelmingly frightened; so much so that her singing voice was slightly impaired. However, in the comfortable environment of Tone’s living room, she was able to relax and her voice soared. The audience knew the band, they knew the music, and they sang along. The happy and pleased energy choked up the air and I never felt so at-home in a stranger’s home than I did at that moment. Truly a spectacular show.
 | Zoe Adler is a music journalist from Long Beach, California. Besides her website, which is her pride and joy, she works with the GRAMMY Foundation and the Long Beach Independent. Additionally, Ms. Adler is a musician, spending half of her time playing the flute, piccolo, trombone, and marching baritone. She has been with TeenView Music since the very start and hopes to make something of it in the future. |
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