CMJ '08: Local, Ladies

Itinerary:
Isabella Lundgren – stupendous jazz standards
Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers – earthy arranging
Chris Pureka – beloved acoustic sadness
Frontier Ruckus – ruckus alright

A time for the regulars! JI was able to catch a breathtaking set by jazz singer Isabella Lundgren upstairs at National Underground … even though she’s not even part of the Music Marathon (she appears most Wednesdays at this excellent free venue/lounge). Like Madeleine Peyroux or Billie Holiday, Lundgren’s rough voice soars and interpreted freely songs like “The Nearness of You.” We don’t know who her pianist was, but that dude deserves a cute girl’s (or boy’s!) number.

Across the street, another New York regular, Annie Lynch, was backed by a cellist, a killer multi-instrumentalist and a tight drummer for her rootsy, calming set at Rockwood. At risk of making her sound too precious, Lynch’s compositions feel whimsical and even somewhat dark, with help from the diverse arrangements and oft-used three part harmonies.

Chris Pureka, another Billboard Underground favorite, played to a packed room directly after, summoning the spirits of Gillian Welch’s “Revelator” or Ryan Adams’ “Heartbreaker.” And break hearts she did. Her husky moan cradled her adoring fans and her funny between-song banter brought ‘em home.

In Brooklyn (in what we personally call the Finer Borough), we weaved our way through the whiskey-and-PBR-downing crowd to the front ditch of country rockers Frontier Ruckus, who also loved their whiskey and PBR. Signed to Michigan-based Quite Scientific (home to the lovely Chris Bathgate), this bearded band’s fans are like with like: rowdy and plaided Midwestern revelers. Oh, and to keep with the theme, they did have a bar-ownin' backing lady who smiled as she sang.

As a side note, one thing we’ve noticed – particularly at the larger shows like Lykke Li – show-goers often seem more occupied with taking the perfect photo or recording the perfect YouTube-ready video than with shaking ass. Frontier Ruckus? The closest there was to that phenomenon was the oft-used photo booth in the front of the bar. --Katie Hasty