Songbook (2/29/16)

Featuring Composer/Lyricist Nick Luckenbaugh

February’s edition was pretty good—but not boffo. I liked some of the concepts, many of which dealt with fairy tales and princesses, though not all of them hit the mark. And compositionally, there was a bit of a sameness—starting the song fairly low in the singer’s range, sitting around there for a couple of phrases and then expanding the range and power. It just seemed too hard to get the songs off the ground this way. As always, this is just my opinion. There were some top-notch performers, all of whom were volunteering their time, quite a few on their evenings off from their current Broadway gigs. With 17 songs on the program, here are some of my highlights.

Up Here, from Royal Fables, and sung by Theresa Burns, was a take on Rapunzel that was her account of hearing all of nature, and the differences between being up in her tower as opposed to being down on the ground. It had a nice a cappella opening that then built into a light rock style. Also from Royal Fables, and sung here by Kacie Sheik, How Love Should Go was interesting, if a little too country for me. The affectation of singing country often leads to the text being sort of chewed up (vowels being manipulated) making the lyrics hard to understand, especially on a first hearing. Some of the fables were not as well known to me, including The Twelve Dancing Princesses, which was represented by Demon Dance, performed here by Madeline Fansler. It was a very effective dark waltz of seduction.

A stand-alone song, Baxter, sung by Daniel Everidge, was the story of a Hollywood actor who everyone forgets. Everybody knows Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart, and then there’s Baxter, whose lyrics and sentiments were encapsulated in, “Always silver, never gold for me.” But what’s this? A turnaround? Hey! A Baxter can win! Mr. Everidge was a terrific performer who also shone earlier in the program in The Seduction. Alas, my notes only say, “Fun, nice performance.”

Unravel You was based on a Russian fairy tale where a princess is essentially previewing possible husbands, yet no one seems to make the final cut. It was a power ballad but with a fun, rock-style rhythm. As sung by Ali Stroker, this was a princess who was totally in charge.

The finale, of sorts, was from a Norwegian fairy tale, East of the Sun and West of the Moon. World’s End was sung by Kathleen Monteleone (with Theresa Burns, Madeline Fansler, and Raina Helen Fraley) and was a return to country/rock style, in a song that spoke of facing adversity but never giving up. The backup singers had some nice harmonies in the more rousing sections—even including the good ol’ audience participation clap-along portion (not my favorite).

The accompaniments included piano, percussion, and guitar. Not being a huge fan of guitar, this may have been one of the reasons that I wasn't bowled over. Songbook is always an enjoyable evening, but this one didn’t make it for me as compared to many of the previous iterations I’ve attended. I’ll definitely be going back, though, because it’s always good to hear new composers and ideas.

ConcertMeister