Rose Polenzani and Sharon Lewis, Loring-Greenough House, June 20, 2007
By MICAH C. BELLIEU | June 25, 2007
HOME-STYLE FOLK: Rose Polenzani and Sharon Lewis serve it up at the Loring-Greenough House. |
It’s sweaty, there are drinks (as long as you like Sprite), and 40 loyal fans of two singer-songwriters — local favorite Rose Polenzani and the UK’s Sharon Lewis — are in place. This is no club show, however, but the third sellout for the Notlob House Concert music series at the 18th-century Loring-Greenough House in Jamaica Plain. With its low kitchen counters, narrow hallways, and squeaky wooden floors, the Loring-Greenough is far from your typical concert venue. And Jeff Boudreau, Notlob’s de facto MC and booking agent, seems both stressed and first-day-of-kindergarten excited as the evening begins and the crowd stroll into what might at one time have been the house’s “cocktail hour” room. Even before the show begins, you realize how intimate the space is: front row means you can reach out and kick the performer without even standing. You have to sit in the second row to get any perspective.
This is the last gig of Rose and Sharon’s “Kings and Queens” tour, so it’s with sweet sorrow that they greet the crowd. They trade off singing lead, but both stay in the spotlight throughout, with Rose playing guitar and Sharon piano. Rose’s airy yet grounded delivery blends nicely with Sharon’s graceful voice, which takes on something of a Victorian sensibility. The sole amplification comes from the small Crate amp tucked behind the two performers; it enhances the rawness of their folksy storytelling, and the room’s high ceiling creates a warm, natural reverb. For the encore, they snap their way through a song they wrote on the road together. It’s hard to play guitar in a car, they explain.
Boudreau intends to continue booking singer-songwriters in the roots, newgrass, and Americana veins through April of 2008. And beyond that? He gives a big smile: “As long as there are musicians who are interested and fans to support them.” For information about the Notlob House Concerts, visit www.myspace.com/notlobhouseconcerts.
Related:
Get buggy with it, Modern enchantress, ’S no joke, More 
- Get buggy with it
Mirah wanted us to embrace nature in our daily lives, and she started by giving the creepy-crawlies a heart without stretching the truth.
- Modern enchantress
It’s no wonder producers picked Hickey’s version of “Modern Love” as a soundtrack to aneurysms, scrabble, and heart attacks.
- ’S no joke
A roomful of local nominees and friends made it to the Paradise last Wednesday.
- Boston music news: March 30, 2007
Drummer Billy Beard saw a young band called the Everyday Visuals at the Lizard Lounge last year and was knocked out.
- Rising star in Indieville
Indie singer-songwriter M. Ward has been attracting attention of late — enough to fill the Somerville Theatre last night, September 17.
- Covering all the bases
Anais Mitchell took the Club Passim stage with hair freshly cut at Cambridge’s Judy Jetson salon and polled the crowd as to whether it was okay to switch hairdressers within the same establishment.
- Two guys walk into a bar . . .
From the outside, P.A.’s Lounge looks like a place a man in a joke about a bar might think twice about bringing his talking dog into.
- Not quite phenomenal
Fans of deep-roots blues and soul are always looking for new heroes and heroines.
- A singer and his songs
Alexi Murdoch’s music has been used for a plethora of TV shows and film.
- Still waters
On record, Toronto’s Great Lake Swimmers trot between the countrified rock of the Cowboy Junkies and the somber folk of latter-day Neil Young.
- The man and the band
Just as Bright Eyes is a vehicle for Conor Oberst, Aqualung is the name under which Matt Hales records.
- Less
Topics:
Live Reviews
, Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, More
, Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, Singer Songwriters, Less
