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| From | "Craig Leve" <snapcracklepopster@gmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: Nicole Atkins |
| Date | Wed, 7 Nov 2007 10:04:47 -0800 |
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Hey Gene,
Well, a week ago when you said this name I thought nope, sounds vaguely, but
nah, don't know a thing. Well the name was vaguely familiar for reasons that
became clear at the show I'll tell you about, but first lemme second your
recommendation.
I saw Nicole open for the Pipettes on Friday night when they (suprisingly,
relative to the market size of the rest of the cities on their tour) played
Eugene, Oregon's John Henrys (a great old punk dive). It really fit the
Pipettes, though I couldn't tell if it was part of the East London
cheekiness when Rosay (the Pipette I'll admit to a mad crush on) commented
on being in f&%!kin' Eugene on a Friday night. In any case the Pipettes
were really fun to see live and I highly recommend you go see them if they
stop in your city.
As for Nicole, she took the stage and none of us knew who she was and in the
next forty minutes she had drawn the usually reserved Eugene (damn west
coast cool thing) audience down to the floor just in front of the stage.
Many folks were dancing and Nicole said this was their first "dancing" gig.
I agree with all you said, Gene, except the stage presence is beyond good -
mesmerizing and intense with absolute command of her gorgeous voice. To the
brief description and influences you mentioned I'd add Roy Orbison, Siouxsie
& the Banshees (see the track "Love Surreal"), and a HUGE dose of Angelo
Badalamenti (sp?), the guy behind the early Julee Cruise albums and who did
the music for Twin Peaks and other David Lynch movies. Reverb drenched,
awash in eerie keyboard, and sinewy guitar. Whether an influence or not, at
times the new album "Neptune City" reminds me a LOT of Richard Hawley's
albums. Indeed the title track of her album is easily a peer of "Cole's
Corner" for it's sense of place, deep melancholy and resonant emotion
without drifting into treacle or cheap nostalgia.
I never make those year-end lists, but no doubt this will be counted among
my favorites. And while this might usually put me off, it's on a major (Red
Ink/Columbia).
Now, here's why it turned out Nicole was familiar and has a connection to
the power pop most of us love. I was standing at the merch table after her
show and started to talk to her about influences and faves (she had my
complete attention when she mentioned Herman's Hermits as her first concert,
and went on to talk about how much she loved the Monkees). Then this guy I'd
run into at the show who LOVES my radio show, starts gushing to Nicole about
how I'm the guy to talk to (I cringe, as I have no appetite for promotion)
and raving about my show by name. Nicole looks at me and asks if I've been
doing the show a long time, sounding like she knows something about it. And
once confirmed she explains, that she used to send CDs my way when she
worked at Rainbow Quartz on the office side. So maybe folks like Jeff
Shelton and Alan Haber, or other radio hosts may remember Nicole's name on a
few emails from RQ!
In any case, I can't guarantee Nicole's music is for everyone here, but I'll
say if you like many or most of the folks I mentioned above, I HIGHLY
recommend this one. Oh yeah, she also mentioned she will be on Conan O'Brien
the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
-craig
++++++++
Host: Snap, Crackle, POP!
Fridays 10am-12noon, Pacific Time
Eugene, OR KWVA 88.1 FM
http://kwvaradio.org
http://www.myspace.com/snapcracklepop
On Nov 2, 2007 1:48 AM, Gene Good <javagene@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Did anyone see Nicole Atkins on Letterman the other night? She belted out
> "The way it is" and it was quite impressive.My best description would be
> over the top torch.She has a strong voice and good stage presence.I was
> floored since I expected nothing.That performance clip is on her
> myspace.Worth watching.Check out her influences.Outrageous Cherry for one.
> Anyone know anything about her?
>
> Gene
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Climb to the top of the charts! Play Star Shuffle: the word scramble
> challenge with star power.
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>
>
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