Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Domino's CD Release Show

Domino's CD release show last night was a mixture of amazing and unusual moments. Domino was set to perform at 9 but when I got there, right on time for the start of her show, I was told that she had yet to arrive. Even though Domino had been heavily promoting the show the night before at the open mic, somehow she had gotten set back and didn't arrive until about 9:45.

In the meantime a very vocal representative from the group of Domino's friends who were present lobbied to let another friend from the audience have a moment to sing on stage. Nick and Ben acceded to the entreaties and Domino's friend Leticia rose and began singing songs in German, Indian, and other languages.

After Leticia concluded, Joe Crow Ryan ably filled in with a set. Joe seems to be getting more polished all the time and I thought it was one of his better shows. It contained numerous covers, and I thought that rhythmically he found a nice pulse to many of the pieces that pushed them along into a tasteful jazz feel.

Domino started her set by explaining that she was starting not with an original tune but with a little dance she does to someone else's song. Watching Domino dance to REM's Orange Crush, while using a bottle of that drink as a prop, is a reminder of the unbridled moments in childhood when we would lose ourselves and dance in front of a mirror or our siblings in some kind of flight of imagination. Her dance evoked a joyful giddiness among some of us watching.

There is no point not acknowledging that part of what captivates people about Domino is how she marches to the beat of her own....guitar playing. But what she brings to the stage has brilliance to it and outstanding creativity. Several of her songs were performed last night to homemade backing tracks which she plays from an onstage boom box. She finished up with this song Cheesecake, requested by Nick, that you have to hear to grasp fully but it is typical of Domino's unique subject matter and style of wordplay. "He wanted another piece of my Cheesecake....I sent him away with Cheesecake." I was so glad I was there for her set. I wonder where everyone else was, though. It was a small house. Anyway, I love Domino.

1 comment:

  1. I'm sorry that I missed Domino's show, but the drama of her showing up late to her CD release party/show was very exciting... I was also surprised at how few people were there for such a BIG event...the last time Domino played a set at the Sidewalk, 3 months ago, there was not a seat to be had...people were crammed into the hallway...

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