Issa at Showplace. Peterborough, Ontario. photo by clint gilders- staff photographer |
by clint gilders - club kingsnake staff
Issa
www.issalight.com
Thursday October 4th, 2007.
Showplace Centre For The Performing Arts (Peterborough, Ontario)
About a year ago Jane Siberry made some major changes in her life. Along with changing her name to Issa (pronounced “eee sah�) she has sold almost all her possessions and simplified her life to traveling with little more than a backpack. As of late she has been working on the recording of 33 songs funded solely by the generosity of "patrons", and selling her back catalog in digital only format using
Self Determined Pricing. In a nutshell, pay what you think the music is worth to you either before or after you hear it. Also of note is that fact that, on sheeba.ca, Issa makes a handful of free tickets available for each of her shows.
Opening the performance was another singer/songwriter,
Adrianne Pierce. While she only performed three songs, she handily won me over. Her velvety voice is full and yet delicate at the same time. Sheryl Crowe and Victoria Williams come to mind. Adrianne, accompanied only by her Telecaster Thinline guitar shared with us "Reaching For Me", "Arizona" and "Arc de Triumph". "Arc De Triumph" was chosen by the audience when asked to vote for either a "happy song about Italy" or a "sad song about France". We'd like to hear the sad song of course. Arizona, from 2004's
Small Fires has hit written all over it with just Adrianne and her capoed guitar. The album version is even better.
Adrian Pierce at Showplace. Peterborough, Ontario. photo by clint gilders- staff photographer |
Accompanied by pianist/organist
Tim Ray, and the occasional atmospheric backing track Issa took the stage immediately following our appetizer of Pierce. Her first set was quite traditional compared to what one might expect from Issa/Siberry. The vocals often brought to mind Judy Garland and Rosemary Clooney. I'm not talkin' corny lounge singing, I'm talking Chanteuse extraordinarre. While Issa is a painter in the literal sense of the word she is also a skilled artist with lyrics. Early in the set, while still taking photos, I found myself misty-eyed. Sadly, for the life of me I can't recall what she was singing about, but at the time it definitely hit a nerve. Speaking of photos, I found myself feeling very much like an intruder while shooting the show. The volume levels were so low and the performance so intimate with little but a lonely white spot bathing the stage that no matter how non-intrusive I tried to be it seemed even the sound of the camera's shutter would destroy the delicate tapestry being woven. I pretty quickly returned to my seat, content to just listen.
It was during this set that Issa described the prerequisites for her current crop of songs - "..must be playable by muppets, and not make me tired...". Seems simple enough. Oh, and she likes to write about super heroes. Later she mused that she and Tim had the new songs down pretty well, and the audience "..won't see me crash on stage..". Something that's happened before?
The second set had a more avante-garde feel to it. More free form jazz, lyrical/vocal acrobatics, and strange time signatures. The highlights of the show came in this set. One can't escape an emotional reaction to the story of closure "Mama Hereby" or be lifted and intrigued by "Oui Allo","Five and Dime", and "When We Are Queen".
"When We Are Queen" is the antithesis to the Bare Naked Ladies "If I Had Million Dollars" and pretty clearly illustrates Issa's view of the world. Before the song she described it as "working from your own backyard... maintaining a small focus and doing small things with great purpose...". I don't know about you but that sounds like a little bit of heaven to me.
Issa at Showplace. Peterborough, Ontario. photo by clint gilders- staff photographer |