Karen Elson Review

This is my rather brief review of not only the show, but the whole evening (including attendees).

Firstly, I only had one club soda and no urge to smoke.  So yay for that.  In fact, I didn't feel quite as self-conscious as I'd anticipated.  Being in a dark space helps.

Karen Elson has a surprisingly good voice, and she was very gracious.  She kept commenting on how "sweet" everyone was.  She wore a peach 30's bias cut satin dress, which was beautiful.  The bassist, also a woman, wore a vintage dress and had her black hair pulled over one shoulder.  The men and the keyboardist/accordian player/backup singer (a woman) wore fedoras and suits.   Even the person I took for the roadie had a suit and fedora on as well as a ZZ Top-esque beard.  Speaking of which, if I were a man, I'd totally have mutton chops or another kind of distinctive sideburn like the guitarist did.

The music was good, and I'll definitely buy the CD.  The concert didn't change my life, but I'd say it enriched it.  She played mostly tunes from her new CD but also threw in some covers like "Season of the Witch" and a tune she used to do with The Citizens Band.  The music had a nice darkness to it.  Nothing like a couple of murder ballads and references to the ground opening up to make it interesting.

The opening band was from Hamilton, which I found amusing.  Maybe I should've carpooled with them.  Please note - I am not a fan of the deep v-neck on men.  I know it's the look (American Apparel's hawking them like no tomorrow), but to me, it's just a little sleazy.  Eech.

The crowd was mixed - age and disposition (fashion or music) - with a few drunks thrown in for authenticity.  A young woman, who I knew to be fashion-affiliated (because someone said "Oh, I knew the fashion crowd would show up"), was wearing a 1980's nightmare: stretch white lace top (long sleeves), a denim sleeveless vest, some kind of tiered below-the-knee skirt, and, although I could only make out the fact that she was wearing boots, I wouldn't be surprised if they were cowboy boots.  Let the 80s go.  They are the least interesting decade for fashion.  Trust me.  I have photos.