Event: Fusion Entertainment Presents "An Acoustic Affair" featuring Kameron Corvet. November 7^th 2008

It was quite cold the night of Friday November 7^th I was already out and underdressed for the weather and the show. Still I found myself parking on Upper Third Street and shuffling down the windy side of Midtown towards the local venue that I know best. I guess the draw for me was seeing Kameron Corvet's name on the flyer for this acoustic affair. Kameron holds a special place for me as artist for several reasons. One, my first organized event in 2001 featured him and it was one of his first "in-club" events as well. Kameron was just starting out then and though obviously talented his music and stage presence was "low key" but he kept at it and every time I've booked him or seen him sense he's been better than the previous. I wanted to come check him because I hadn't seen him perform at all in 2008 or had a chance to pick up the new record Korporate Rockstar. So lets fast-forward I finally get into the warmth of the nightclub and find a sitting place with a good stage view and settle in to see what's cooking. I'm glad to see that for a cold night in Atlanta the crowds decent, lots of cozy couples and Morehouse Alumni (same as the headliner). It comes to my attention that an artist known as Crea has replaced the opening act Sam Dew in the lineup for unspecified reasons.

The stage was dark except for the warm circle of light in which a stool was centered. Before the music starts I need to qualify my feelings (slight bias) towards acoustic shows before I go any further: I love acoustic music but in terms of live acoustic performance if any element is missing they can be dull, anyway, let me set more of the scene. Crea is extremely attractive; she's got that type of warm beauty you can tell radiates from the inside out. She takes the stage to greet us and do a mini sound check with the guitar; you can tell she's holding back an infectious talent while syncing up with the soundman in preparation to take us into her world.

I first experienced Crea when she'd just started performing in this area. At that time she was talented but shy, so tonight I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm happy to say she has grown considerably, not lacking in confidence and delivering well written triumphant tributes to the personal lessons that come naturally with relationships in a rangy vocal style (definitely her own). As far as stage presence Crea is a very engaging performer with a talent for pulling you gently but deep into her experiences and feelings. Her third song described a painful breakup but she conveyed no salty aftertaste or bitterness in relating the tale. Her song "Kiss" really seemed to pull all the men in attendance real close and say to us "Hey your appreciated" and left me, hate to use the term again but it describes it best, "warmer" than when she began. Thanks Crea.

Now on to Kameron Korvet who came in solo out the midtown winds with hood and ball cap in place and guitar strapped to back looking confident. A lot has changed since I first saw him and for me seeing artists grow into their craft and stage persona over the years is one of the pleasures of working in and around music. Kameron is perfect example of this growth having already toured the world in support of his first record (recently re-released through Kameron Corvet.com) and now instead of the student I met in 2001 he is now himself a French teacher. It's going to be interesting seeing Kameron perform acoustic for two reasons: 1> He usually rocks shows with the full band here in the adopted hometown putting you in the mind of a sound-clash between Maxwell and Lenny Kravitz.  2> I will get to hear material from the new album for the first time ever and in acoustic format.  He gets right to it, opening with a cover of Prince Classic "Little Red Corvette" fused with recent hit "Bed" by J. Holiday easily emulating both vocal styles, one of the coolest things about Kameron's vocal performance is the way he'll just break from his norm and hit you with a nice falsetto ala Curtis Mayfield to make sure your feeling the entirety of what it means to him at the drop of a dime.

Now that we're loose he seems eager to give us Sophia Clinton is a thoughtful dedication to the daughter he envisions having some day.  He blends a breakup song back to back with a strong reconciliation song "Kiss and Make Up" from the album creating a nice old time love feeling in the room which is the perfect segue into a medley of excerpts from some of the new-classic love songs from the 80's and 90's. You know the ones, the songs dedicated 30 something R n B fans kind of wish artists today would emulate. It's a nice living room vibe complete with Kameron taking requests and we get some Jodeci, Al B Sure in the mix along with a mention of Bobby Caldwell (who knew?) before going into "Spelman Girl" an upbeat homage to the college days featured on the new album.  Kameron doesn't miss a note and the crowd actually thickens as we go and not a single person is lost as the rest of night plays through in good fashion. I would highly recommend the album Korporate Rockstar by Kameron Corvet available at www.kameroncorvet.com. Tonight served as a reminder to me of just how much talent there is here in Atlanta. On any given night in just about every corner of the city there's quality live music whether your into beautiful guitar crooning female story tellers or soulful (sometimes acoustic) rockers or any of the many other genres Atlanta's after dark boasts. Glad I made it; see you at the next show.

Event Revue: Is a Journalistic "Play by Play" of that show "You Should've Been At" by novelist, music consultant Jeffrey M Johnson.