A rapt audience watched as Mo Kenney won over everyone in the room with a quiet ease. A likable confidence exuded from not only her banter but her music as well. Introducing songs with simple but engaging back stories she would then carry on with her simple but engaging songs on her acoustic guitar. Her voice is pleasant and her songwriting top-notch. With just the one self-titled album under her belt she played a good selection from it, beginning with The Happy Song and it's whistling and finger-picking. She also did Eden, new single, Sucker, and the Great Escape - all with just the acoustic and none of the drumming or electric guitar heard on record. In addition to her material she covered a song by her producer Joel Plaskett - Somewhere Else - which he claims (and she reiterated) that he prefers coming from her. One of my favourite moments on the album was when I realized the transition to Deja Vu was coming out of In My Lungs after loving Deja Vu on the radio for the past several months. Hence my excitement when she closed with these two together - maintaining the segue. Another moment of excitement was when she returned to the stage in an encore of the cover she recorded for the album, being David Bowie's Five Years which was excellent - especially in its abrupt finish.
I found Molly Thomason already playing to the seated Rivoli crowd, strumming away on her acoustic guitar. Simply dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt her mess of hair did not hide her songwriting skills. Although her appearance wasn't overtly feminine she included definite flashes of a female vocal range during the enjoyable set. Mo apparently met her at a songwriting workshop and noted the talent from the start - I can completely understand.
No comments:
Post a Comment