Tasty Music: Andrea Belanger
I needed to be wowed. I
hadn’t seen live music in at least a month, and hadn’t had my breath
taken away by a surprise artist in much longer. I went to the
Narrows Center on Friday night pretty sure I would love
the Wood Brothersbut having no idea what to expect from the opener, Andrea Belanger.
Never heard of her. But the Narrows has yet to disappoint me with their
music choices, so I had high hopes for one of those ‘wow’ nights.
I
arrived early, which is crucial at the Narrows, because you can score a
great table at which to drink the booze you bring (yes, it’s byob) and
snack on your picnic goods. The place is in an old mill building and
the non-table seating is old church pews. It’s a non-profit that has
it’s roots in the visual arts, but expanded to attract top name folk
acts on it’s tiny stage. In the entryway to the venue there is a visual
art exhibition, and the floor also houses artist studios.
There
was a group of young hipster-ish city kids sitting at the table in
front of us, and as the opening act was announced one of them stood up
with a beat-up guitar and took the stage. Patrick introduced her as
Andrea Belanger, a second semester student at
Berklee.
She had the stage presence of a veteran folk singer, but with some
youthful innocence and nerves mixed in. And when she began singing I
looked at my companion with a slack jaw and mouthed “OH. MY.
GOD.”
She doesn’t even have an album yet. There are three songs on her
myspace page and this wonderful video:
Now
I ask you, how does a person this young have this kind of understanding
of the world? I understand the angst, I think youth is full of it, but
come on, the grip she seems to have on songwriting is magical.
so you don’t wanna live in the house with the flowers
sit on the porch grow old and talk for hours
okay
i’ll keep you while i can
i’ll keep you while i can
but i can’t read minds
even if i try
One of my favorite parts
of her show was the banter mixed in. In one song she dropped the
‘f-bomb’ and someone in the audience yelled out ‘nice language!’ when
the song ended. We were about to be appalled, but then Andrea quipped,
“Ladies and Gentlemen, meet my mom.” There was also a bit of banter
between Andrea and the Wood Brothers when they got on stage. They said
she was the greatest opener they’ve ever had. I’ll say.
If you
enjoy female vocalists and singer-songwriters, please give her a
listen. I’m going to try to keep tabs on her and will update this space
when her EP becomes available.
I haven’t spent a better $18 in a long time. Notes on the Wood Bros to come.