May 16, 2010

• VV Brown @ the Troubadour – May 12, 2010

  VV Brown @ the Troubadour – May 12, 2010

   

  I almost missed the opener, Darrelle London, but I’m glad I didn’t.  Not very many people there to catch her, the chatty college kids in the front probably dismissing her because of her sweet little voice and diminutive size.  That’s a shame, because she has a beautiful voice, a playful charm to her songs, light and airy with creative lyrics.  She’s in the singer/songwriter mold, a mix of Kate Nash/Ingrid Michelson.  I think in a couple of years she’ll be a headliner herself at the Troubadour. 

  

  VV Brown (aka Vanessa Brown) has been a buzz word for the past year on various music publications artists to watch for 2010.  Lumped in the Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Adele, Kate Nash genre, VV is very much her own style.  I was intrigued because 1) she sounded very retro 60s soul, but with 2010 flavor, 2) her outfits were creative, 3) she’s gorgeous in her pictures, and 4) is she the next Winehouse, Duffy, Adele, Kate Nash, or neither? 

  

  You’ll have to excuse the picture heaviness of it all.  I took a lot of pics and couldn’t choose between them.  Arriving only 30 minutes before she was about to take stage and I couldn’t believe that front row, center stage was wide open.  I pounced. 

  

  

  

  She didn’t bring out any of her homemade masks, but she did have on face paint and wore an Egyptian style dress that made her look like a desert princess. 

  

  When VV was singing a cover of Drake’s “Best I Ever Had” and looking me straight in the eye and smiling when singing the chorus, “You ’da best I ever had…”  Damn it was so hard for me to stay calm…  Add to that, I’m not a foot fetish clown, but she has perfect feet! 

  

  She played the longest on “Crying Blood,” going regular version, vibed it into a Caribbean jam, then finishing it back to normal.   I thought the show would end when she played her hit “Shark In the Water” as the last song (that’s usually been her encore), but afterwards she came back out with “Quick Fix.” 

   

  Thanks to Beatcrave.com for the setlist:  

  1. Everybody
  2. Game Over
  3. Bottles
  4. L.O.V.E.
  5. Back In Time
  6. I Love You
  7. Best I Ever Had (Drake cover)
  8. Fela Kuti interlude
  9. Traveling Like The Light
  10. Crying Blood
  11. Leave
  12. Shark in the Water

  • Encore: Quick Fix

  I’m curious to see if VV will catch on.  She’s going to get exposure because she’ll be opening for Maroon 5 this summer.  What I really want to hear is her next album.  The songs on this album are very good, but I’m not sure that there’s an obvious #1 type hit.  She’s got all the intagibles:  stage presence, style, youth, writes her own songs, good pipes, and she’s frickin’ beautiful.   At 5’11″, she’s taller than most musicians so shooting her was a little challenging.  I might be a little too gaga, but hey, the girl just scored a modeling contract with Marks & Spencer (it’s the Macy’s of the UK).   

  This is my favorite picture from the night…

   

  Well, after this one of course…

  

  She’s so humble and sweet!  She had some Tina Turner energy on stage, but then after songs ended she would sheepishly thank us for coming.  Talked with everyone that waited for her and signed everyone’s CDs.  I heart Vanessa Brown!

  • 2:08 pm
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