For a while I have been bemoaning the fact that the Twin Cities doesn't really have an active cabaret scene. At least not in the same way that I read about in New York City, with Justin Sayre, Mx Justin Vivian Bond, The Skivvies, and so many more that I can't name. All the great locations - like Feinsteins 54 Below, Club Cumming, Joe's Pub, etc, etc, etc. This past fall I was introduced to a group named the Twin Cities Cabaret Artists Network (TCCAN). I went to the TCCAN Cabaret Festival at Crooners with some friends. I heard some great performances, and met some very nice folk. I found out that they do a monthly salon, each one with a specific theme, and with a variety of singers. This month the theme was "Saints & Sinners" and it was held at Bryant Lake Bowl.
The evening was hosted by the charming and very funny Rikki Gee. She also started the evening off with her three song set - Only the Good Die Young by Billy Joel, Criminal by Fiona Apple, and Pretty Pretty Please by Pink. Between songs she introduced the pianist (the incredible local legend Lori Dokken), and shared her thoughts on how she related to the theme. She connected to the words of the songs, and connected with the audience so well. I really enjoy watching her perform.
After her set, she brought up Betti Battocletti. I had not heard Betti before so I was looking forward to hearing a new-to-me voice. She started with an original song where one of the lines was "Fast food for dinner, I smoke and I drink." Clearly a bit of a "sinner" theme, especially as she followed it up with Meredith Brooks's "I'm a Bitch." The key lines of that song (at least to me) are "I'm a sinner, I'm a saint, I do not feel ashamed." While Betti let the music speak and didn't have much banter, she also let Lori add some great harmony to the Meredith Brooks song, as well as the closer to her set "She used to be mine." The song by Sara Bareilles, written for the musical "Waitress" was a fantastic number about growth, regret, change, longing - all things that I think we deal with as we look at our lives and see where we have been a saint, or a sinner. We recognize these aspects and (hopefully) use them to grow as individuals. Betti has a great voice and I look forward to hearing more from her.
Following Betti was (from what I have noted) the historian of the group - Les Block. For his set he talked about Johnny Mercer. I am sure you all know the name and what a talent Mercer was. Les also talked about his dark side, his connection to Judy Garland, and how certain songs were written about their relationship. "I Remember You" was the first song Les sang, after giving background on how this was specifically about the affair between Mercer and Garland. After that he sang a little known song by Steve Allen named "Until I Left Chicago (I Never Had the Blues)." I had never heard this song but just found a very nice video of Ann Jillian singing it on youtube. What I love is that the song is a blues song, with a little bit of story within the lyrics. Les talked about what he thought the true story of the song was. He did what I think all good cabaret artist do which is create a backstory for each song which helps make it personal, or helps with the interpretation. He closed his set by asking the next performer to join him for a duet. Heidi Ziman came up and they both sang the song "Candy" - which Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford recorded together. I know this song from a recording by The Manhattan Transfer so it was nice to hear it again.
Heidi continued the night with a charming song written by Harold Rome for the 1937 musical revue "Pins and Needles" In 1962 Rome wrote the musical "I Can Get it For You Wholesale" which launched the career of Barbra Streisand. This same year Columbia Records recorded a studio recording of "Pins and Needles" featuring Streisand. One of the songs that Streisand sings was the first song Heidi sang - "Nobody Makes a Pass at Me." It is a very amusing and charming song. She talked about meeting up (with the guidance and urging of Les Block) with the writer Murray Grand. He is known mainly as the writer of the incredible song "Guess Who I Saw Today." This was a big hit for Nancy Wilson and many others. Heidi talked about the different ways one could sing it - again talking about interpretation, making the song personal. This is the thing I love most about cabaret. Heidi closed her set with a song from the 1961 musical revue Fourth Avenue North. The song, "Love at an Auction" was also written by Murray Grand and was delightful. It had a Cole Porter-esque feel with double entendres and was a great song. While the songs selected weren't specific to sainting or sinning, they tended toward the sinning side. What do you expect from Cabaret?
Closing the evening was Sheridan Zuther. The perfect closer to a show about Saints and Sinners. Why? All the songs she sang were from James Bond films. He is the perfect combination of being a Saint, and being a Sinner. She started with "The Man with the Golden Gun" - originally sung by Lulu on the 1974 soundtrack to the film. Sheridan talked about the connection she made between James Bond and the theme of the evening. She followed that up with the 1999 Garbage theme - "The World is Not Enough." Sheridan dressed for the part with a trench coat, beret, and when she first hit the stage during the transition - I swear she was speaking with a French accent. It was fantastic. She told the story of Nikki van der Zyl. You do not know that name but you know her voice because she did voiceover work for some of the Bond Girls. She closed the evening with the 1963 theme to "From Russia with Love," the theme she says is her favorite. It is a charming ballad written by Lionel Bart (who wrote the musical Oliver!), and originally sung by Matt Monro.
It was a fantastic way to spend some time on a Sunday evening. The cabaret started at 7 and was finished shortly after 8pm. The next salon will be on Mother's Day at Bryant Lake Bowl. I hope to be there, and I hope to see you there as well.
Total sidebar: Easter Sunday, theme was Saints & Sinners, and my bill before tip was $6.66. I was amused.
No comments:
Post a Comment