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Click on the logo below to hear the latest from the venue! |
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REVIEWS: Our Quickie Review: In the words of keyboardist extraordinaire Joe Simon, "Everything seemed to click at this show. We played great, and Fi sang so well, it was great." The show was fuckin' awesome! The crowd got so pumped up and rocked the house. Fiona even told the crowd that they were the fucking best! There were a ton of cameras in the venue so expect to see a load of pictures. Up and coming star, Shelby Starner was in the audience and she met Fiona after the show. She starts working on her sophomore album on March 12. Check out some of our pictures below!
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| From John:
Wowed in Wilkes-Barre Hi all. I'm Nicole's brother, John, and I thought I'd offer my thoughts on this show. Now I've been to quite a few concerts from various artists and genres of music and I can honestly say that this show in Wilkes-Barre, PA was by far the most amazing one I've seen to date. It's difficult to explain why though because it was not like it started out this way. In fact, some of the songs early on weren't quite as powerful as I'd heard they were going to be from my sister and the other show's reviews (such as "Carrion"). Something about the way the Fiona first said, around the midway point of the performance, that we were a good audience (and it was quite an enthusiastic crowd) made us slowly get even more into it until a point at about 3 or 4 songs from the end. Quite a large chunk of the audience made its way from their seats closer to the stage and were singing and dancing in the aisles. I happened to notice that Fiona's eyes were closed, for about 30 seconds, while singing at that time and when she opened them there was a kind of shock and then immediate exhilaration visible on her face. She seemed to feed off of this outpouring of love and energy and proceeded to give a Kick Ass rendition of "Fast as You Can". By this point you could see even the band members were a bit shocked by the energy of the crowd and gave each other looks like they hadn't seen this kind of frenzy very often. The band began giving a little extra also (hard to do, as they are so good already). This was the last song of the regular set before the encores and this was when she said we were the best audience she'd ever had, and you could see she was quite emotional about it. When she came out for the encores and did an amazing Cole Porter song (and her voice reminded me quite a bit of what I 'd heard recently on a special about the great Ella Fitzgerald) the crowd quietly soaked up the beauty of her voice and the song. You could feel it building to a tremendous crescendo at this point. The cherry on top of the whole evening was the finale she did of Bill Wither's "Kissin My Love". Now I had just listened to this song the night before and was wondering how she could top this classic but I can't even listen to Bill Wither's version after experiencing Fiona's rendition. She was feeding off of the energy from us and us from her, it was a high like I've never had. The energy being passed between Fiona and the crowd was almost visible in the Celestine Prophecy kind of way. She took that song and made it the most soulful, rocking song I've ever heard. Now while it is a classic song, its not nearly what she did with it so that makes me think she could do that with any of the old greats, she really made it her own. The line she kept repeating over and over "When I'm kissing my love, when he's kissin me" was like the ultimate jam that you didn't want to ever end. Whew. In summary :-), hehe, she did what few artists have ever been able to do, she touched all of our souls that night with her performance. Any artist can touch your heart now and again but it's the rare few that can do what Fiona and her band did in Wilkes-Barre, PA that night. John
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| From
Amnesia:
Wowed in Wilkes-Barre The theater was located on the edge of a quaint, andy-griffith type town square. People were hurrying but the excitement was low key. Once inside, the audience was chatty and in no hurry to take their seats. The venue was semi-circular with an almost church like atmosphere. (a 70's church.) Jurassic 5 began their first song almost simultaneously with the house lights dimming. Their abrupt entrance caught the audience off guard and brought the driving beat of their song alive. By about fifteen minutes into their set, the guys had the audience "ho"ing and counting and moving with abandon! as Akil broke away to dazzle us with his dance skills, the others (Chali 2NA, Zaakir, Marc 7, Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark) never stopped the consistent barrage of exciting music. Back to back, they rapped and dj-ed the crowd into a frenzy, song after song! Seeing the innovative ways they create their original sound was fascinating! Though it was hard not to be mesmerized by the good-natured posturing of the guys! After their set, Jurassic 5, retired to the lobby to greet a new slew of fans. The house lights came up and the audience wandered, animatedly discussing their great performance! Jurassic 5 sold copies of their ep (the album comes out in may.) and signed them for the fans. They were very grounded and sincere. As intermission ended, the theater had calmed from the J5 triumph, but was still anxious with excitement. The hope was palpabable. Fiona burst on stage with enthusiasm and the audience went ballistic on her. She started her show without hesitation and with a power reminiscent of Joplin. Holding her own against the powerful piano beat of "On the Bound", Fiona slipped easily into a gentle rendition of "To Your Luv". Her new take on the ever-popular "Criminal" finally had even the most doubtful theater-goer convinced he/she was part of a very special performance. By "Limp", Fiona was freely dancing, storming and leading the audience on her own ride. The band was as above the norm as they could possibly be! Matching Fiona's
stride, you could see the jovial interplay between the musicians. Sometimes
there's nothing more satisfying than seeing entertainers hit their stride!
Driving beats, strong instrumentation and big smiles brought the audience to
their level. The band owned the audience. Nothing these men (and woman) did
was anywhere far from perfect! This phenomenon was punctuated by Fiona telling the audience, "Wow, you guys are so
(expletive) great!". As Fiona and the (once again present) gang launched into "Fast As You Can", crowd members started getting up and making their way, tentatively to the stage. People were singing and dancing in the aisles as the crowd moved forward with the beat. Eventually, (all worries gone) the audience was entirely standing and dancing and those who had left their seats had reached the stage! Fiona pointed and giggled with delight and threw herself into the song even more. Everyone was dancing and experiencing! It was a frenzy that matched the beat of "Fast as You Can" perfectly! At the song's end, the theater exploded and Fiona (hastily grabbing gifts thrown on stage) exited the stage. The audience was wild and Fiona did come back for an encore that stunned the place into silence. She returned on her own and quietly sang "Just One of Those Things" (written by Cole Porter). Standing midstage, she looked like a siren from an old black and white movie. Blown away, the crowd overwhelmed her with applause. As the band returned, the show ended with a fantastic rendition of "Kissing My Love" (written by Bill Withers. Emotionally Fiona took the fans to extreme highs and gentle lows. And every
person excitedly left talking about what a great ride it was! Amnesia
All pictures below property of NIAP |
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