Sunday, November 21, 2010

Reviewing Jill Barber

On Thursday, November 18, I experienced a bunch of firsts:
* I attended my first concert solo.
* I saw Jill Barber and Michael Kaeshammer.
* I reviewed my first show!


I was given the opportunity to write concert reviews for the Halifax Magazine blog (Thanks Trevor Adams!), on Wednesday and secured my media pass within 20 minutes for the Jill Barber show. haha


I've been a big fan of Barber for a while now, and was thrilled that this would be the first show I would get to write about. Of course I was nervous: what if the concert wasn't good? Well, praise be to Jesus, it was.


Perhaps the biggest surprise for me though was the opener, Michael Kaeshammer. I had never heard of him before. I was seated to next to a fellow reviewer (for the Gazette), and we both had our socks knocked off from the minute he walked on stage. This guy legitimately has it all. Perhaps Jill said it best after she took the stage musing, "How about that Michael Kaeshammer? He's handsome, certainly charming. If only he was talented..." (Jill's funny too).


He is a jazz pianist with such extraordinary talent. Talents really. That voice! His hands moved gracefully across the keys, producing a sound equal to twice as many instruments. His skill in controlling the volume of the notes was also something I marveled at. And how about his band??
Mark Rogers (bass) and Mark McLean (drums), are so top notch, they made a new notch.
I really can't say enough about Michael Kaeshammer, and urge you to buy a ticket next time you see his name on a bill. yowza.*

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