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Playing to a sold out crowd, Brandi opened her set with Free and Clear, an as of yet unreleased song. The crowd was packed to capacity, ideal for the local artist's showcase. Also impressive was the fact that the majority of the audience seemed to know every word to Brandi's songs. During Turpentine, Brandi would sing, "It's 6AM..." and then the crowd would follow with "and I'm all fucked up," without any sort of coaxing from Brandi herself. The set continued through many of Brandi's originals off of her full length record We're Growing Up as well as the newly released Room For Doors, which features Brandi's previous EP's on one disc. Also included in the set were a few cover songs such as Radiohead's Creep. This could have been a disaster considering the incomparable voice of Radiohead's Thom Yorke. But, Brandi pulled it off with her strong vocals and the choice to remain respectful to the original vision of the song. She didn't try to alter the style or direction of the melody which made the song a welcome addition to the set. A highlight of the evening came at the end of the set. During an encore, Brandi came back out on stage alone and performed a cover version of the legendary Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah (which she sang in the style of Jeff Buckley's rendition). Brandi's voice wrapped around the song with grace and undeniable ability. Another keen cover choice was Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time. While Hallelujah allowed Brandi to showcase her strength and presence as a musician, Time After Time gave her the opportunity to interact with her audience in a sing-a-long.
With her confident presence
(a confidence that could be misconstrued as arrogance
were it not for the intimacy and self questioning in her
lyrics) Brandi owned the stage. Her songwriting is
insightful, her melodies are catchy and she has the
voice to enhance them live. With this combination, she
has a very real opportunity of becoming a household
name. I'd suggest going to see Brandi Carlile perform at
a local, small venue while you still have the chance. |
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