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"New New England"
For a brief moment at Avalon Monday night, Bostonist felt like we'd been transported to 1964. Flanked on both sides by an eight piece, horn-fueled band, a young woman and her towering bee hive took the mic in front of a simple back drop strung with twinkling lights. Two male back-up singers, elegantly suited-up, began moving in unison.
But this ain't no lame Motown review featuring tired, retro-dance moves. This is Amy "believe the hype" Winehouse joined by the Dap-Kings (of "Sharon Jones and the" fame) and two buff singers moving as if directed by a hip hop choreographer who'd been up all night studying old video footage of the Spinners and Temptations.
And how was Amy? Well, sure, it appeared she'd had a drink or two before the show (and was drinking something from a plastic cup during the gig). But drunk? Not really, although she did trip over a few words during her perfunctory between-song banter. And while she cracked a few jokes and was often charming, Amy seemed to have little interest in really connecting with the sold out crowd.
But none of that mattered when she opened her mouth to sing. Damn. That liquid smoke, soul soaked voice and slippery phrasing gets us every time. As we've said before, many of us here at Bostonist Headquarters are big fans of Amy's hip hop influenced update on the sound of Motown, Philly Soul, and early '60s girl group R&B. And we weren't disappointed as Amy ran through almost all of Back To Black.
And she did run through the album. Amy's performance clocked in at about 45 minutes, including the encores. Of course when you sing most, but not all, of a 36 minute album and add only three other tracks (two from her first album Frank and a cover of "Valerie") it's quite difficult to do an hour or longer show. But it's a shame she didn't arm the Dap-Kings with beefed-up arrangements of a few tracks. Or drop out and let the band stretch and strut for a track or two. Of course sticking to straight album arrangements is safer, and sure to please her new, suddenly soul crazy fans.
And the crowd was pleased. Fan favorites included the infectious Motown bomp of "Tears Dry on Their Own," "Me and Mr. Jones," and "You Know I'm No Good," the latter two held for her encores. Many in the tightly pressed crowd sang along, swaying or gently dancing, hands thrown up in the air (which made it difficult to get good photos). Surprisingly, Back To Black's title track and "Rehab" were met with less excitement than Bostonist expected. Amy did rush through an uptempo version of "Rehab," however, as if she'd already tired of the monster UK smash and fledgling US hit.
Although a substantial segment of the audience sang along to "Fuck Me Pumps," the crowd definitely quieted down -- proof that a good deal of her new US fans have only heard (and, in many instances, memorized) Back To Black, not her first, more languid and jazzy release Frank. At times it felt like Amy was just running through her greatest hits. But that simply demonstrates the strength of Back To Black: nearly all tracks have a hit-like quality.
Patrick Wolf, touring in support of his third album "The Magic Position," had an energetic clump of white college kid fans near the front who were really into his performance. They danced and sang along to every word of every song. Despite finding most of Wolf's material interesting, this Bostonist found it difficult to comprehend the WCKs hyper-enthusiasm. Although we were unfamiliar with him till this week, Wolf was basically what we expected, although a bit more precious and affected. Kind of a Divine Comedy drops the show tunes, picks up a ukulele, and meets Mark Almond at the disco in 1983 sound. And Wolf even looks a little bit like an orange haired Mark Almond.
Patrick Wolf is not bringing sexy back
Wolf incorporated a "Bringing Sexy Back" parody into one of his songs. He thinks Justin Timberlake is the devil, with Beyonce a close runner-up in the Satan category. Although we're sure a substantial segment of the racially diverse (well, by Boston standards) and mixed aged (well, for this type show) Avalon crowd agreed (at least the WCK indie fans), this Bostonist was like, dude. You're opening for Amy Winehouse, not Stephen Merritt. Whatever.
But back to Amy. Despite our disappointment with the brevity of her set, would we pay to see her again, even in a larger venue with jacked-up ticket prices? In a heartbeat.
Matt Durutti contributed this post
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I was at the concert a bit early, and definitely walked past Amy and a couple members of the band sitting at one of the outdoor tables at the Taboo Lounge throwing a few back before the show!
Great show, wish the sound guy hadn't let the horns drown out her voice so often though!
Uhh, I was there early too and Amy Winehouse & Co. were sitting outside La Verdad, not Taboo Lounge. Give the girl some credit! At one point she ran out after someone who "cameraphoned" her.