Madeleine in London

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version

   Here's another review for you.  I was at the BUSH Empire 

and it has to be said - she can sing like an angel and trascend you into the sublime for the duration.  Brava Madeleine.  A real treat.

Pete

 http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/articles/20026215?source =Evening%20Standard

"Britain was the last market in Europe to get around to Madeleine, and now it's one of her biggest," said the man from Universal Records, contentedly surveying Saturday's near-full theatre. Peyroux fans, however, were happier to observe that big-time marketing had not yet smothered her fragile artistry. 

A few kaleidoscopic graphics drifted across the backdrop curtains, but there were no horns or electronics, just Ben Waltzer's sympathetic piano trio. With drummer Scott Amendola using brushes almost exclusively, they eased her gently through Broadway standards (Lonesome Road, Careless Love), quality modern songs (Leonard Cohen's Dance Me to the End of Love, Bob Dylan's Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go) and touches of Americana (Hank Williams's Weary Blues) and chanson (Paris est Mon Pays, sung in fluent French). 

Once again it was impossible to hear Madeleine's laid-back, plaintive tones without thinking of Billie Holiday. I only wished this gifted Franco-American diva didn't seem so tense. Awkward, self-absorbed and shy at the microphone, clutching her acoustic guitar like a lifebelt, she managed to take some nifty solos and sing like an angel while looking as comfortable as an England tail-ender facing Shane Warne. 

Even her jokes - "Dylan mentions Rimbaud in that lyric, and younger Americans often ask me what Rambo is doing in a love-song" - had a halting nervousness about them. Yet her odd blend of intimacy and insecurity has a way of drawing audiences in. Certainly her audience was enrapt throughout. There's no doubt this intuitive artist has something special." 

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version
Pete Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: August 08 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 22	Quote Reply Topic: Madeleine in London Posted: August 08 2005 at 9:07am
	Here's another review for you. I was at the BUSH Empire and it has to be said - she can sing like an angel and trascend you into the sublime for the duration. Brava Madeleine. A real treat. Pete http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/articles/20026215?source =Evening%20Standard "Britain was the last market in Europe to get around to Madeleine, and now it's one of her biggest," said the man from Universal Records, contentedly surveying Saturday's near-full theatre. Peyroux fans, however, were happier to observe that big-time marketing had not yet smothered her fragile artistry. A few kaleidoscopic graphics drifted across the backdrop curtains, but there were no horns or electronics, just Ben Waltzer's sympathetic piano trio. With drummer Scott Amendola using brushes almost exclusively, they eased her gently through Broadway standards (Lonesome Road, Careless Love), quality modern songs (Leonard Cohen's Dance Me to the End of Love, Bob Dylan's Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go) and touches of Americana (Hank Williams's Weary Blues) and chanson (Paris est Mon Pays, sung in fluent French). Once again it was impossible to hear Madeleine's laid-back, plaintive tones without thinking of Billie Holiday. I only wished this gifted Franco-American diva didn't seem so tense. Awkward, self-absorbed and shy at the microphone, clutching her acoustic guitar like a lifebelt, she managed to take some nifty solos and sing like an angel while looking as comfortable as an England tail-ender facing Shane Warne. Even her jokes - "Dylan mentions Rimbaud in that lyric, and younger Americans often ask me what Rambo is doing in a love-song" - had a halting nervousness about them. Yet her odd blend of intimacy and insecurity has a way of drawing audiences in. Certainly her audience was enrapt throughout. There's no doubt this intuitive artist has something special."

Jules UK Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List New Member Joined: July 30 2005 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 14	Quote Reply Posted: August 07 2005 at 9:14pm
	Wow ! Yesterday I experienced Madeleine Live - a fablous performance at the Shepherd's Bush Empire. I was spellbound. Her voice is something else !!! Pure Magic. You gotta go see her live. Don't expect a glittzy show, just expect really captivating music. It really is quite something. Here is a link to a review of the show ... and an extract. http://www.musicomh.com/gigs2/madeleine-peyroux_0805.htm "...Madeleine Peyroux has had an almost inperctiable rise over the last few months. It's easy to see how she appeals to the loved up middle-class couples who attend tonight's show in abundance - her songs are breathlessly romantic, and have that air of sophistication that's so difficult to pull off without sounding smug. Yet it would be wrong to class her as another Norah Jones - she's far more intense than that. There's a slightly awkward stage presence to Peyroux that's strangely endearing - stood behind the microphone, clutching a guitar, she never seems fully at ease. Until, that is, she starts singing and that voice fills the air. It's a marvellous voice, full of emotion and longing. It's true that she sounds uncannily like Billie Holiday, but she's not a Stars In Their Eyes impersonator, Peyroux turns Leonard Cohen's Dance Me To The End Of Love into a swinging jazz number, remakes Elliott Smith's Between The Bars into a smokey ballad straight out of 1920s Paris, and gives a haunting rendition of Hank Williams' Weary Blues. Her band are on fine form as well, with pianist Sam Yahel effortlessly launching into some fantastic piano solos. This being jazz, there were a fair number of improvised solos, and some of these did swing towards the self-indulgent. Double bass player Matt Penman is a fine musician, but there's only so many double bass solos one can take - thankfully drummer Scott Amendola's solo moments were a bit shorter, as an extended drum solo is enough to test the patience of the most saintly quite frankly. It was Peyroux's voice that was the main draw tonight anyway. A spine- tingling rendition of I'll Look Around was just stunning, even managing to silence the drinkers at the bar, while she also showed that she can handle the more uptempo numbers, as demonstrated on the country standard Walking After Midnight or her own song Don't Wait Too Long. There were even a few funny asides to the audience, such as the tale of how American journalists mix up Rambo and Rimbaud when asking about her version of Dylan's You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go. "So, when I sing about Rimbaud, it's about a 18th century poet", Peyroux told us. "19th, actually" came the retort from one well read minded member of the audience, reducing Peyroux to a fit of the giggles. Her grasp of French was also shown off to fine effect, as on the old Josephine Baker standard J'ai Deux Amours, sung perfectly by Peyroux before a more upbeat encore of No Names Blues finished the show off to delightful effect. It would be a bit unfair if Madeleine Peyroux was to be lumped into the 'tasteful, Radio 2 friendly songstresses' market that's so lucrative right now, as there's a lot more to her than that. The audience at Shepherd's Bush certainly went away happy - when they'd eventually stopped talking at the bar anyway..."