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Concert Review: Three Acts At Club Cafe
By Camiele White: 2008-07-22 17:46:44
In the history of forever, there have been distinct moments in which I’ve been introduced to something that changed the course of my life. Well, this past Thursday (17 July), I was blessed enough to have such an experience. Three indie artists came to Pittsburgh to give their reputations a bit of a boost, and I was no more than 30 feet away when they all ascended the stage. At Club Café at 7:00 pm, I was rushed into a world of rampant lyricism and out of control vocal stylings of artists that I had neither heard music from, nor even heard of.
Let’s explore Club Café itself: a non-descript little hole in the wall that can be easily missed if you don’t know what you’re looking for. When you walk in, the first thing you see is a gentleman no more than 26 years old asking you for identification and $12 to have a seat. That in and of itself is a bit extravagant and would be enough for me to change my mind about sitting through any performance; however, because I wasn’t paying for this venture, I had no choice but to stay. After you shell out the cash and prove you’re old enough to order a drink, you walk into a large room that seems more interplanetary than bohemian: the stage is completely black except for inserted blue Christmas lights that light it up like twilight. As you wait for the bands to start, the DJ plays the most unexpected music you could imagine for a club setting such as this. I was quite impressed when he started to play “Everyday” from Jamiroquai—a band not a great deal of people know outside of their 1997 smash “Virtual Insanity”; so to play a song like that in a setting like this took me completely off guard and made me think to myself, “Okay, this place is alright.” First up to the microphone was Amber Rubarth. She’s an adorable little brown-haired girl with a coquettish smile and a truly “La Vie Bohéme” attitude towards life—she plays barefoot with nothing but an acoustic guitar, a piano, and her voice. She began by tuning her acoustic for about 25 seconds. Then she laid into a very soulful song about loving someone like it’s the first time. Her voice is a very sultry second soprano/alto, which threw me for a loop like nothing else. To look at her, you’d imagine a more high-pitched voice, around the range of say Feist a la “Gatekeeper” or Sara Bareilles. But she swooped in with a sound that betrayed the ears. She plays the guitar like a seasoned pro without gunning for the Eddie van Halen wizardry or copping out to the three-chord angst of a college folk singer. My companion that evening was in hysterics every time Rubarth opened her mouth to sing a familiar song. When she got the chance to request a song, she almost cried when Ms. Rubarth complied. Her set ended with a sweet song about love conquering the minds of unsure lovers afraid to let their hearts lead them. Next was Cory Chisel and his back-up singer Angel. They were a soft little couple with voices that matched the mellow mood of the club itself. Chisel and his guitar were a dynamic compliment to the dark lyrics that came out of his mouth. Again, a voice that caught me off-guard for its sultry, low-fi tremor. His warm tenor voice made even the most depressing of lyrics seem like a love song and his scruffy façade—covered by a large hat—was a reminder that there are some artists out there who are truly in it for the pure love of music. The moment that stopped my heart, however, was when he said in an almost inaudible voice, “I’m gonna sing a Sam Cooke song.” I was shocked—that takes balls. If you don’t know, singing Sam Cooke is like someone without a degree attempting a tracheotomy. So, I had to turn to my right and ask my friend, “Did he just say he was going to sing a Sam Cooke song?” Of course, she didn’t really know, he’d said it so low that I’d be surprised if his stage companion had heard him. Then he started strumming away at a melody that wasn’t completely Cooke, but the lyrics couldn’t be mistaken: “I was born by the river, in a little tent..” That was all it took for me to fall head over heels in love with him. He took a few liberties with some of the lyrics and the melody, but that can be overlooked because of the sheer passion with which he sang the song. And as quickly as I’d decided to dedicate my life to his cause, he was off stage promoting his new album. I was beginning to regain my composure when all of a sudden, the main attraction made his presence known on stage. (I only say the main attraction because his name came first on the ticket.) Joshua James has a quiet veneer; however, don’t let that mistake him for someone who is new on the scene. Once the man stepped on the stage, he was possessed with the type of musicianship that I’d only seen in the likes of Jeff Buckley. The first song he sang was a monstrous down-home stomper that shocked the hell out of me. I didn’t know that kind of sound could come out of an acoustic guitar. He had all the energy and fire of a man taken over by some demon spirit and his voice was out of control in every way—seriously, if you had tried to go on stage and calm him down for fear of an epilleptic fit, you would’ve been knocked the hell out. What came next was something out of Woodstock—the band (consisting of a drummer, organist, accordion/bassist, and a lap-guitarist) mounted the stage and slammed out some of the most epic folk rock I’d ever heard in all of my life. When James spoke (a rare moment, because of his self-proclaimed social awkwardness and shy demeanor) it was like listening to a puppy ask for approval from his master. As adorable as he was in person, his stage persona completely filled the room up with artistry, desire, and the most dedicated sense of self that one could ever imagine. The concert was definitely worth all the $12 I didn’t pay. The food wasn’t bad either. But, if there’s one thing that you could say I took away from that show it would have to be the sheer awe that hit me as soon as these acts hit the stage. Each one of them squashed any expectations or biases I may have had about neo-folk artists. There are artists out there who are in it to prove a point and stay absolutely true to themselves. Something as rare as that should be savoured and treasured. Believe me, this is a moment in my life that will forever find itself lodged in my memory. RELATED: Club Cafe, Cory Chisel, Amber Rubarth, Joshua James
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