That i was for real
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| Reviews | Results: 1 / 1 Previous | 1 | Next2008-01-14 Review by Amy June Weekly Acoustic Cordiale Concert. Donovan Lyman, Mai-Lan, Alan Morphew & Soraiya. An unusually warm evening coincided with the warm atmosphere amongst dinner guest and birthday cake as a lovely night at the Acoustic Cordiale began to take shape. Between sips of a divine dirty martini I watched as the seats began to fill and the clock struck nine. The first songstress of the evening, Soraiya, a pixie-like Canadian native opened her set with strong, bluesy chords engulfing the light overhead and making it her own. Halfway in Soraiya illustrated wonderful vocal range with the gentle "And The Spring", hitting such wide variations that I couldn't help but imagine her in the bright lights of Broadway. Not only was Soraiya on point in English, she also harmonized in Spanish causing the savvy ears of the musicians sitting near me to state "Wow, she's good." Much earned applause ended and the second guest of the night; Alan Morphew took his seat on the wooden stool obverting the red curtain. Among a positive and confident stance Morphew delved into his set. With a surprising amount of covers ranging from John Lennon's "Imagine" to some loose versions of Sonic Youth Morphew failed to bring much needed originality to the plate (or at least my plate, which at this time was being graced by a lush slice of appetizer pizza). With the lyrics "No ordinary day, no ordinary sight..." preceding his lengthy set Morphew seemed to contradict himself. His vocals delivered, but Morphew's choice of song failed to fill my fancy. Third on the mic was the beautiful and intriguing Mai-Lan Hoang. The large room was now completely packed and awaiting to be graced with sugar-coated audio candy. "I won't speak on the mic, I'll only sing because I suck at talking" spoke Mai-Lan as she began her set, causing the audience to chuckle. Thick-strong vocals conveyed a hint of singer Shakira's fierceness, but with a foreign and acoustic depth that balanced each other well. Music is a powerful medium and well written lyrics combined with talent can send chills down one's spine (and that it did). Amongst a keen presence depicting an abundance of confidence, Mai-Lan closed her set with the edgy "Happy" singing "let her live her life, let her be happy", leaving the Cordiale guests happy and craving more ear candy. Closing the evening was the birthday boy/host/talented musician Donovan Lyman and Blue Meridian band mate Chadwick Steinmetz. The professional duo which never seizes to disappoint opened with the beautiful and lyrically impressive "Talliensen", a soulful ballad that rises and falls with the tides of emotion. With the strong guitar and backup vocals of Steinmetz, Lyman carried the music home with his sturdy flair in "Gravity" a lovely tune emitting the comfort of faded-down jeans. My second martini now nearly finished and my eyes wander the room noticing the abundance of tight blouses and heavy lips mouthing the words along with Lyman as he finished his set with "Mary Model", a tune if flavored would taste of the sweetest lemonade. Hoards of hand-clapping later and another amazing night of Acoustic goodness came to a close. I grabbed a slice of birthday cake on my way out and slowly walked the few blocks home thinking about how lucky we are to live in a city where live music flows out of the crevices in the sidewalks and still rings in ones footsteps when all is silent. |
Shows 2008-08-26 - at 20:30 The Cat Club 2008-05-25 - at 22:00 Hollow Body @ 14 Below 1348 14th St Santa Monica, CA 90405 > All Shows Add Mai-Lan's music to your website! Reviews Third on the mic was the beautiful and intriguing Mai-Lan Hoang. The large room was now completely packed... review by: Amy June > All Reviews Top Jukebox: Payback Time Plays: 427 New audio: In my mind Plays: 86 |