kelli ali: live at soho revue bar

What was originally intended to just be a Kelli Ali live review has, by virtue of circumstance (i.e. we didn’t know they were playing), been extended to cover the other three women performing the same night at the Cameo Sessions, a regular live showcase of new, undiscovered or budding acoustic acts on the circuit.

As we entered in from the freezing cold of Soho’s fabulously sleazy back alleys, we ventured upstairs to the cabaret bar to find the night’s opening act, Annalie, already warbling away on the piano. With Christmas crackers and mince pies all over the place, it was easy to forget about the cold and embrace the group-hug spirit of the evening, despite Annalie’s all too eager quest to become the next Regina Spektor. Her attempt at quirky half-spoken, half-sung anti-rhyming couplets and disjointed chords was something of a false start as we settled into our relocated cinema seats at the back of the bar. Songs based around fairytales and nursery rhymes are something of a prerequisite for offbeat singer-songwriters these days, but mashing together ‘Good King Wenceslas’ and ‘Humpty Dumpty’ with gobbledigook lyrics essentially saying “Humpty fell down because he was just an egg whose legs were too small for his body and affected his centre of gravity” were simply funny for all the wrong reasons.

Although a talented pianist and a solid voice for, say, a wedding reception, Annalie’s delivery simply lacked the necessary individuality to attempt this kind of material. This could have been overlooked, but removing her jumper to reveal a T-shirt with her website emblazoned across her breasts and constantly repeating “I’ve a CD for sale!” tarnished any hope of taking her more seriously. Needless to say, Regina won’t be losing any sleep over Annalie anytime soon. Next up was Dutch singer Gitta who, after taking to the stage with a quiet confidence, unleashed a wonderfully expressive voice and a surprising knack for lyrics. Earthy and cutting, but not without the ability to coo and soar, Gitta’s genuinely heartfelt performance was a definite highlight, and certainly worth writing her Myspace address down correctly for further research. (She recently released her first EP, Confusement Park, I later discover). Louise Latham took to the piano next, with her sister on backing vocals and guitar, working up some uplifting balladry that put her somewhere between Jewel Kilcher and ’90s Stevie Nicks. There’s no doubt the Latham sisters are very good at what they do, it’s just a bit dated and ‘Dawson’s Creek’.

Finally, Ms. Ali’s band (comprising a cellist, flautist and guitarist) start to set up as the chipper host reads a brief biog. A few toots of the flute and a coo down the mic and the undeniable awww factor of warm ditty ‘Dancing Bears’ washes over the crowd. A few fans with old-school Kelli logo T shirts were a welcome reminder of her artistic pedigree among the rest of the crowd who seemed to never have heard of her; either way, the response was genuinely appreciative. A spine chilling version of ‘The Savages’ and beautifully poetic new song ‘Butterfly’ gave all three of Kelli’s talented musicians a chance to shine and play with the mood, complementing her delicate, ethereal voice and new-found folk direction very well.

Album milestone ‘One Day At A Time’ is possibly the lightest track of the evening, and is one of those songs that is so angelic and tender it could either captivate or lose an audience. This time it prevails with the former. Dressed in a floaty dress and clashing red kitten-heeled ankle boots – an adorable style ensemble that puts her somewhere between Pocahontas and a cowgirl – Kelli’s soft calls to the audience between songs were another step closer to a group-hug atmosphere. However, things turn sharply as the mood changes with a damn right spooky cover of ‘Willow’s Song’ from ‘The Wicker Man’ that sets our hairs on end. Letting her cellist lead the way with a deep, single bass note as her flautist takes flight and guitarist lends some order to the chaos, last song ‘Rocking Horse’ – the title track of her latest album – brings a surprising amount of balls and guts to the set as it builds, really letting its hair down as Kelli sways back and forth and eyeballs the crowd intently. It’s a powerful number, and one that leaves its lyrics ringing in your ear after the musicians finish on a sudden drop: ”Happy ever after / hear the devil’s laughter / who will be your master? / Rocking Horse.”

A brief chat with Kelli afterwards reveals that she’s selling an exclusive tour CD-R called Butterfly, ten songs including new band versions of some Rocking Horse tracks and several new songs including, yes, tonight’s ‘Butterfly’ and her cover of ‘Willow’s Song’. This entirely self-funded release (not under the One Little Indian umbrella, just her own name) I was told, “is paying for the tour, and is a taste of what we are doing live. It’s definitely it’s own little world away from the actual album, but still a good companion to it too.” There’s that independent, modern artist again. In the three weeks since we first met for a chat, Kelli has certainly put her money where her mouth is and delivered on all fronts. One of the most important things on her current agenda under the umbrella of the Rocking Horse release was to just play. Anywhere. Anytime. Tonight, in a tiny cabaret bar above a drag club in Soho, we got to see her do just that.

Written by: Leigh Bartlam

Tags: annalie, gitta, kelli ali, louise latham, rocking horse

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 12:41 am and is filed under live reviews, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.