Nicole Atkins and Carrie Rodriguez
On Thursday,
August 7, 2008, Baltimore's City Paper and Towson University's
WTMD jointly sponsored a free concert featuring these two new
performers, thereby proving that sometimes you actually get more than you pay
for. A Lot More.
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Under
the threat of a thunderstorm, Carrie Rodriguez opened the show at
5:30 PM in West Mount Vernon Park. What a fine performer. A fiddle
player and vocalist, Carrie and her band played what would have to
be classified as unclassifiable music. Part country, part
alternative, part folk and pop, each song was more compelling that
the previous. In my opinion, the best song was the sassy title track
of her new album: She Ain't Me.
For more on Carrie Rodriguez, read the interview
published in b free daily on August 15, 2008
here. Or visit her
MySpace page.
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Just as
Carrie finished her set and the stage hands began to tear down the stage and
begin setting up for Nicole Atkins, the clouds opened. The storm was not
(nearly) as violent as predicted, but rain it did. And thunder. And lightning.
Most people brought umbrellas in anticipation of just such an occurrence; others
made makeshift umbrellas out of newspapers, hats, blankets, chairs, what have
you. Some left. Fortunately the rain stopped after about 30 minutes and before
the beautiful rainbow crowning Mount Vernon disappeared, Nicole Atkins was on
stage.
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Nicole
Atkins and the Sea opened their set with what has turned out to be a
wildly popular song,
Maybe Tonight. This
got everyone in the right mood and soon all forgot about how soggy
they were. The song brought the crowd to its feet. Nicole then went
on to perform every song on her album
Neptune City
to the delight of all those hearty souls who braved the elements.
What a talented performer (and band)! To close her act. she pulled a
song out of the oldies bin, the old Ronette's
Be My Baby.
Hers was a raucous version! This only left everyone crying for more.
But it was not to be. Here's Nicole's
MySpace page.
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Here's
looking forward to her next album and her next local performance.