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Written by Jenny Mandeville
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Monday, 01 January 2007 |
Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
December 4, 2006
Melissa Ferrick is a rarity in the long list of touring musicians working today: When things fuck up, she gets positively giddy. Earpiece malfunctioning? Can’t hear herself in the monitor? What better way to play a great show! After all, it just gives her more of a chance to interact with her fans, which is something that Ferrick does very well— especially during the many equipment mishaps at her December 4 turn at the Bowery Ballroom. She used the inopportune equipment failure to ask for requests, which she entertained readily, laughing her way through what other musicians might have walked offstage for—or, at the very least, whined considerably about.
And when things aren’t fucking up all over the place? She’s quite good then, as well. Ferrick takes a few of her cues from the DiFranco school of rock, but not so much that it’s distracting. Her performance aesthetic is similar, but she manages to create an ambiance that is all her own. And it’s not necessarily fair to lump her into that category, either, as she has been paying her dues since the early ‘90s, owing perhaps more to early Liz Phair than early Ani.
The show began with Ferrick, accompanied by a band, playing the song “Inside,” which shows off her particular lyrical stylings. Part tongue-in-cheek and part genuinely earnest, it was a good way to set the tone for the evening. Ferrick is an enigmatic performer, and she’s engaging with her fans. She often talks between songs, either to introduce them or just to say hi, but she never rambles, and she errs on the side of caution when it comes to that fine line between audience interaction and the 20-minute ramble to nowhere.
One of the best songs of the performance was “One Year,” which Ferrick said was one of her happier songs. Indeed, the song chronicles the celebration of a one-year anniversary, thus living up to its name and making it one of her more memorable songs of the evening. The band eventually left the stage, giving Ferrick the chance to perform on her own. On these solo songs, it seemed apparent that you could take the girl out of the coffee shop, but you couldn’t take the coffee shop out of the girl: Ferrick managed to retain the intimacy of a performance despite being in a much larger setting. It’s always refreshing to see a musician who’s cultivated such a devoted fan base playing a show like this. Ferrick seemed as though she was just hanging out and playing for a few good friends, and in a way, she really was.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 January 2007 )
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