Sarcasm with a side of optimism.

Charlotte.

Went to see Charlotte Martin at the same venue where I play open mic. I love that place. There was a show before hers, so the line outside was forever long. Even the local police stopped by to see what the commotion was outside of the local coffee shop! We were supposed to filter in after her sound check. I wondered what was taking so long, since we waited 40 minutes past doors to be let in.

Finally, we file in after 10pm and I notice a merchandise table on the right. They had all of Charlotte's CDs, a poster for this tour, stickers and pins. Best of all, there was a note stating that Charlotte was going to stick around after the show for a signing!

The stage had a digital piano in the center, so Charlotte was facing stage right which is opposite of pretty much everybody else. I was surprised to see a mixing console and several other synthesizers arranged on top of the digital. She plays the piano, but also messes around with pre-recorded tracks turning them off and on when she needs them. Some people compare her to Tori Amos, but she's almost like a Tori/Howie Day kind of hybrid. When it was showtime, the lights went dim and an instrumental track played. And then, Charlotte pops out from the door onstage. She was tiny with a river of blonde hair. She was energetic, and launched into her set. She was terrific! Reminded me of a young Tori with a lot of fire and passion. The weird thing were the pained faces she makes while she's singing. It kind of makes it a little awkward to watch. Despite this, I was enthralled for an hour and fifteen minutes.

She seemed surprised that the audience was so warm and supportive, and at the end, when she got a standing encore, she sat there in front of the piano and you could see the tears streaming down her face. She played a short encore. At this point, I snuck to the back to get in line for the signing. I don't know how Charlotte snuck past all of us to get into the merch booth, but she did! She took her time with each fan, and allowed photos and would sign multiple things. I got her new CD signed, along with the CD booklet and a tour poster. That's definitely going to get framed and put on the wall.

Can't wait for her to come by again.

posted by v @ 9:27 PM