Rachael Yamagata (11.21.2011)
Preamble:
I shot and reviewed Rachael Yamagata’s show at The Media Club [for The Snipe] just this past Monday. The photos and [a shadow of] my review were posted on their website*. (*note: you can try and find the link if you want; I am not linking it here… and I will explain… now).
The editor had to change my article lots, because, well… he simply felt it was far too subjective than objective and would rather much prefer the facts – not the feelings. Understandable.
However, I do feel that a lot of my personality was taken out in the editing process, and that the new article has become subject to tonnes of typos and errors in punctuation… I mean, the fact that my name is associated with this somewhat cold, failed English student-version of what I had originally submitted, is… well… embarrassing.
So I will post the original review here. Keep in mind a few things: 1) I have made this into a review of both Rachael Yamagata’s Chesapeake AND her Vancouver show at the Media Club on that Monday evening; 2) The opinions and feelings expressed here are my own, and do not reflect The Snipe, the music blog I volunteer for. This is all me, baby, all awkward and honest. The Snipe sent me to the gig only to take photos but I was so enamoured with Yamagata’s performance, I volunteered to write a blurb about the show too – as an extra. I know better for next time. :-S
And on that note…
At first listen, I was surprised at the lightheartedness of Chesapeake when it was first released, at least, when compared to her last album.
I must have associated much of Rachael Yamagata’s musical presence with the profound and heart-wrenching melancholy that surrounds her last double-album, Elephants/Teeth Sinking Into Heart.
‘Not that Chesapeake does not have its share of songs for the brokenhearted – it does. It has loads of it, in fact. Still, Chesapeake parallels Happenstance more than her latest predecessor. Of course (and I was pleased to note this), the writing in this album is still very much Yamagata – clear, insightful without pretense, honest. I will not blame potential [first] listeners who tend to gravitate towards the indie greats of today for snubbing this album and categorizing Yamagata in the vastly growing pile of bourgeois pop acts out in the scene; this album plays like the background music to every single clichéd romantic comedy where boy meets girl, girl meets boy, boy and girl fall for each other, girl refuses to be saved by said boy, but girl ends up being swept off her feet by boy anyway after a series of hilariously heart-warming tests of chivalry… or something to that effect. At the very least, I will not be surprised if some of the songs from Chesapeake make it to some copycat Grey’s Anatomy-type drama on television.
Yes, Chesapeake is a far, far cry from Elephants/Teeth Sinking Into Heart, which, by the way, is an album that has made my top ten, all-time favourites list.
All of that said, Chesapeake is not without its charms. Put aside the initial, almost saccharine overtones of the album (saccharine only to a cynic like myself, anyway), and give the album a close listen. The arrangements are actually quite brilliant. The music complements the words… and vice-versa. Yamagata’s throaty, sensual vocals ring loud and clear in amongst the album’s bluesy, jazzy, country leanings. Stand-out tracks include Full On and her incredibly sexy Stick Around, the latter which, Yamagata admits to a packed house at the Media Club this Monday, she hopes will become the new sexy-time-song for couples:
“I hope to, one day, receive a letter from a fan, saying, ‘I had the best sex in my life to this song!!!’”
Now, take all of what I have just written about Rachael Yamagata’s albums and put it in a live-music setting.
Rachael Yamagata, simply put, is an outstanding performer. Each song transitioned beautifully into the other, opening with the first track from her Chesapeake album, Even If I Don’t, and ending, quite fittingly from the same album, with the heartbreaking Dealbreaker. She also played some favourites from her Happenstance album, and, much to my delight, my personal favourites from Elephants/Teeth Sinking Into Heart. I may have brushed a tear or two when she performed Elephants, much thanks to the lovely young lady beside me who requested she perform it (given that the audience wholeheartedly indulged Yamagata’s inquiries on the Twilight movies — and the fact that the franchise was filmed in Vancouver). Hahaha… Oh boy.
Lastly, I simply must say something about Yamagata’s band. Oh my gosh… her band. What an amazing bunch of musicians. I wish I had taken note of their names! Opening act Mike Viola played keys and back-up guitar (a sensational performer too – his vocals are swoon-worthy). The rest of Yamagata’s troupe played their respective instruments quite brilliantly. The bass, seductive, and guttural, and surprisingly prominent (just the way I like it); the drums, lively and timely; both guitars, played with so much personality; and the keys tying everything together — these made for a stunning aural combination, melding beautifully with Yamagata’s vocals (which are, by the way, even better live).
“Stick around,” Yamagata sings, “I’ll be good to you”. And by golly, Vancouver, she most certainly holds true to her word.
~
