BarkDust

Now Playing: Madeleine Peyroux

Last night we had a chance to see Madeleine Peyroux perform at the Aladdin Theater not too far from my house on her "Half a Perfect World" tour. I've been a fan of her voice and sound for a couple of years. She mostly sings covers of other's songs but reinterprets them so satisfyingly that you forget it wasn't her song to begin with. She has a Voice that can pull off the throaty tones of an old blues singer. She sounds timeless. This was my first chance to see her live and I'll have to admit to being just a tad disappointed. She looked uncomfortable on-stage, especially between songs when her "light-hearted banter" ended up just sounding silly. She seemed a bit miffed to be playing at the Aladdin (she was originally booked for a larger venue in town but then got shuffled to the Aladdin when another performer's tickets were in higher demand). It's probably not going to endear yourself to your audience to mention that you're sick of playing in this theater. Her photos always make her look glamorous and sort of retro. She showed up in jeans. Usually I wouldn't hold this against an artist, but when you're expecting glamorous and retro.... Also, she had a 3-member band that did a fine job of backing her up, but I prefer the fuller sound on her c.d.s. So, "Half a Perfect World" works for me on c.d. but is less that half perfect in concert.

posted by Deb @ 10/01/2006 01:30:00 PM