Having just finished listening to Lisa Crawley’s brand new album All In My Head only several days before, my expectations for this show were at an all-time high. I was jittery, had butterflies and a sense of pride as I strolled to the venue with my plus one, spoke my name and was granted entry. The rest of the night was a breeze.

Before the artists had even begun there was a friendly and inviting energy in the air. Couples deep involved in conversation were laughing, barmen and women served drinks to the thirsty customer and a brightly lit stage lay dormant waiting for the first performer to take the reins. Sound technicians were darting around making sure every little thing was perfect, I looked around the homey, vintage bar and felt at peace. With Guinness in hand I was ready to begin taking notes and report my review.

To open the night the very talented Evan Sinton played a solo set with nothing but his Taylor guitar and amazing voice. Instantly I was taken back by the power of this young man’s vocal power and clarity. He played his guitar very well using the instrument as the background to his vocals which came out very well. Sweet songs were listened to by all and the mood of the whole evening was improved dramatically. It was at this point that I noticed Lisa darting through the crowd talking to several people and getting a feel for the crowd. I had the pleasure of conversing with her for 30 seconds before Evan finished his set and Lisa had to prepare. Being a gigging musician myself I can understand the adrenaline rush you get when the act before you finishes their set.

It was several minutes later that I saw Lisa again, this time she was on stage flanked by one guitarist, one bassist and a drummer in the back. Although calling the musicians just a guitarist or bassist would be a lie. These men were very talented, each playing both guitar and bass, swapping instruments for different songs even moving to the trumpet and ukulele. Lisa even swapped out with the guitar player on one of the last songs for the keyboard which was awesome to see.

The band itself was tight, professional, creative and fun.  The tone in the room was huge. Bass was very big but not overpowering, it sit well in the mix thanks to the good work of the sound technician. The sounds of Lisa’s digital piano filled out every corner of the room merging frequencies with her lovely voice that was layered with the perfect amount of reverb from the sound desk. In between songs Lisa’s quirky personality came through as she introduced songs from the album and had a good chat to the crowd, explaining the origins of certain songs and the meaning behind them. My personal favorite song that I have had stuck in my head for the last few days is Stranger, both album and live versions. The song feels like it means a lot to Lisa.

The turn out of the evening was great, for a smaller venue it packed out and I easily found myself looking around at the different groups that had come to appreciate the good music. I did notice that my plus one and I seemed to be the only people in our age group that was at the gig and it felt kind of peculiar. If a heavy metal bassist can appreciate this style of music there is no reason that someone else cannot.

The last song of the evening was the single off of All In My Head which makes sense for reasons of exposure and having the single stuck in your head. After the song finished we were thanked for coming and wished a good evening but the show was not yet over. Lisa and the band came back on to perform a couple more songs including the bonus track off of her album, Loneliest Girl In The World. The song was sung with Lisa using only her microphone and the guitar player now switched to Ukulele which was a nice touch.

All around the night was a great success and I had a lot of fun attending and getting into the music. Leaving the gig was almost sad for me, like a big chapter of my life had just ended. The pop scene definitely hasn’t seen the last of me however. Evan Sinton was amazing and Lisa Crawley lived up to the sweetness of the album. The fun atmosphere was palpable, awesome crowd response to the tracks and fun vibes were had by all.

Jesse Reeves.

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