Concert Review

There are some artists that you don’t know you like until you see them live, then you listen to their record, and then you become a fan. This was the case with Rachael Yamagata, as apart from the singles “Starlight” and “Even If I Don’t,” I was going into Monday night’s concert at the Media Club blind. Her energy, wit, solid songwriting and strong stage band won me over, and hopefully many more as she continues to tour through the U.S. until the end of December.

Mike Viola

The opener, Mike Viola, was also a member of Yamagata’s band, and a co-writer on some of the songs during her set. He had his own acoustic set for the crowd at the Media Club, who were sitting on the hardwood floor. The Media Club is an exemplary space for close quarter’s appreciation of music, as the crowd is literally on top of the artists. Viola, has been an artist since the 1980s, had a naturally relaxed persona and rapport. The bulk of the songs were from his latest CD, Electro De Perfecto, named so by his young daughter. Viola’s vocals are a nice mix of smoky and powerful, and it’s also an unique experience hearing the album song live and acoustically, stripped of the backing instrumentation. The highlights were “El Mundo De Perfecto” (also named by his daughter), a subtly disturbing song, “Get You Back,” a song about a summer fling and “Here’s The Rub,” a song with well-crafted lyrics about addiction.

Rachael Yamagata

The first song off the set list was “Even If I Don’t,” from Chesapeake, Yamagata’s latest effort. She followed that with “Starlight,” easily her most enjoyable song. “It’s got a nice beat,” she commented in the pre-song banter. Almost as soon as Yamagata began bantering with the crowd and her band she reminded me of Jann Arden in her dry, sometimes self-deprecating humour. “I wrote this song when I was home alone with my two cats,” she quipped before “Stick Around,” a sexy, sultry, come hither track. “I want people to have the best sex ever to this song,” she added cheekily.

Even though most of Yamagata’s songs are about the ever present pop music topic of love, she is able to spin them in several different ways, such as “Stick Around.” Another example was when they performed “I Don’t Want to Be Your Mother,” (one of the songs she co-wrote with Viola) describing a relationship in which one partner is the caretaker all too often. “We’re giving away I don’t want to be your mother buttons for free. I want to spread the message.”  

The set list was spread out across all of her records, including “Letter Read” from Happenstance, “The Other Side,” from the Loose Ends EP and “Duet” from Elephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart. “Duet” was one of the two songs in the interlude, when Yamagata played solo, the rest of the band watching from the side of the stage. The second was “Full On,” which was breathtakingly beautiful live, even better than the studio version. It is a very honest track and hits home to anyone who has ever felt like you were faking your happiness all along, and no one was noticing.

Yamagata also did something that is extremely rare these days, and took a fan’s request for a song. Just before the last song, a fan asked for “Elephant.” She obliged with the slow ballad before closing out the set. But not before taking a stab at and at the same time supporting Twilight, of which she said she was Team Edward and while Viola endorsed Team Jacob. “I totally forgot it was filmed here…we should go visit it.” She joked with her bandmates.   

What was clear during the concert was the inherent talent between the musicians. Viola shifted from keys, to guitar, to Rhodes and more, depending on what song was happening at the time. Yamagata is also a multi-instrumentalist in addition to being a skilled lyricist, as she played the keys, guitars and even the tambourine. Her vocals have good range, from sultry and jazz tinged to emotionally charged pop ballad strength.

Rachael Yamagata is well worth seeing live; her songs are infectious, but they're not pop filler, and she will get a laugh out of you with her quick wit during song introductions. Yamagata, Viola et al are still on tour until December 22nd, and for more info you can go to www.rachaelyamagata.com.

Written by :

alessandro