Waiting for Gardot...
Ok it's not exactly Beckett. But it was in his hometown where the delicious Melody Gardot graced us with her presence..
The Olympia Theatre, Dublin was the setting..
Arriving 45 minutes late for curtain-up, she came onstage without batting an eyelash. Although maybe she did..With her sunglasses on, it was difficult to tell. Melody says she wears them as her eyes are sensitive to light...They also make her look cool and sassy, if I may say.
She walked straight on to centre stage, spread some sand (I think) on a sheet of plywood and proceeded to stamp her feet and clap her hands..She was ready for action..
Backed by her Drummer, Double Bass player and Sax/Clarinet player, she switched from grand piano to guitar effortlessly, even managing to light a cigarette between two songs..How cool is that!!
All the songs from her wonderful album ''My One And Only Thrill' were performed as if for the first time..'Fresh' as they say, which is no mean feat in my opinion, as she informed her audience that she's been touring since Febuary!!
As a fellow Pianist, I was so thrilled to see a full sized grand piano on stage..Not only did Melody 'tickle the ivories', but being aware of it's place in the Percussion family, she plucked the strings, throwing in the odd glissando here and there, tapped it, beat it and made a brand new friend of it..
With songs like 'Baby I'm A Fool', 'If The Stars Were Mine', and 'Deep Within The Corners Of My Mind', it's so easy to fall in love with her music and her voice, which is an instrument in it's own right. Such clarity is so welcomed in todays' climate of female Songstresses..And she can scat like all the greats from the past.
At one point during the show, Melody turned to a full house and remarked how beautiful 'this old theatre is..I can imagine Beethoven or Mozart playing here'. Not far off the mark...Handel's Messiah was first performed about 500 yards from where she was sitting, in Fishamble Street in 1742..Close but no cigar, Melody!!
She finished her show with her rendition of that classic standard..'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'..This song, having grown stale in my ears over the years due to the Eva Cassidy version, was such a delight to experience. A wonderful interpretation and welcomed back into the 'musical fold'..
This woman as a Songwriter is a pure romantic at heart with a devilish sense of humour to boot.. I've purposely used her first name throughout my 'little' review..Most reviewers will write Gardot this..Gardot that..But with a name like Melody, it's a shame to waste the opportunity to use it..Melody by name. Indeed Melody by nature.. As Sammy Beckett would say..'Such is life'..

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