| I'm not all that fond of
doing live reviews, the reason being is that my experience on one night may not be yours
on another. Somehow this doesn't seem fair to the reader or the artist. But after listening to the debut CD by Dana Glover,
I knew that I had to see her live. Good bad or otherwise, I had to tell you, the reader,
all about it. The CD entitled Testimony (Dreamworks) took me by storm on first
listen. But I never in a million years would
have guessed what I was in for live.
First off, I was expecting a
band behind the voice. When show time came, there was just a piano in front of it (the
voice that is). That's right, piano and voice.
Well, I said to myself, this can go two ways - you guessed it, good or bad. There in lies
the rub, I mean what do you say? Well, in the case of Dana Glover thankfully there's a lot
to say.
Dana Glover was born in North
Carolina, but you would never guess that listening to her music, although it does explain
the strong gospel sound in her voice. It’s a voice tinged with R&B and it’s
this voice that will have you mesmerized. So powerful and yet never over powering the
song, Dana uses her voice like the instrument that it is.
Style wise, Dana Glover falls
into the adult contemporary category, so the live show is more about the music and less
about the show. Keep in mind, Dana Glover is very at home talking to an audience. Although
the audience on this night was small, I would guess 75 people, they were there for her.
They showed Dana their support by singing along or applauding in the middle of a song,
usually after she amazed us once again with her voice. There was never any question that I
was among fans.
Fans are the people who love
the artist the most and the people who any artist can piss off the easiest. At Schubas on
this night, every fan walked out on a cloud. It's hard to beat the intimacy of a small
room and a special artist. From the time Dana hit the stage until she walked off, she
played every song to that audience. For that hour anything out side those doors didn't
matter, at least not to me. It's the
combination of grace, talent, and great songs that make Dana Glover a must see show, at
any venue, at anytime. I say this realizing that
it's a bold statement, but one that I believe, it's my testimony if you will. It's my way
of saying, special things only come around once in a while, and if you don't make the
effort, you don't get the reward. In this case, the reward is the gift of voice and song.
Dana Glover, remember the
name, your going to be hearing it for a while. Highly recommended.
All Photos Provided by Dan Locke DLL Productions © 2003
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