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| © Russell/Patti |
We've had a run of great gigs over the last few weeks and tonight's concert, at the Common Room on the corner of Orchard St., ranks alongside the best of them as the capacity crowd would surely testify to.
On record, Emma Smith is fantastic, live she is double fantastic and with a swinging big band - well I guess I'll have to find a new thesaurus of superlatives!
She's that good...
A choice selection of standards: On the Sunny Side of the Street; Fascinating Rhythm; I Only Have Eyes For You; I'm Beginning to See the Light; It Had to be You; Ding Dong the Witch is Dead; One For my Baby; I Feel Like a Natural Woman and Honeysuckle Rose (encore). Plus excellent originals in the form of: Get Out of my Life Woman; Monogamy Blues and Sit on my Knee and Tell me You Love me made for a varied programme that drew a well-deserved standing ovation.
Of course all this was driven along by the SSBB who, over the years, led by the indefatigable Michael Lamb, have backed so many top singers and instrumentalists that nothing, seemingly, fazes them - least of all Alice Grace, who does her own thing proving she's a star in her own right. Blue Moon; Just One of Those Things and Cherokee sounded good although the sound system didn't do her justice in the first set - or maybe it was related to where I was sitting way back.
From a visual point of view, tiered seating would have helped. But hey that's nitpicking! This was a great concert with two top singers and a kickass big band packed with ace soloists within their ranks. Who could ask for anything more? I ask you, who... could ask for anything more?
Not me! Lance
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