Returning from a tour around Ireland in the afternoon and performing in Lunt Basement at night is, to say the least, a busy day. Anne Weiss did just this the Thursday before break, which affirmed her position as a performing veteran. Weiss’s style is approachable and emotionally raw, allowing the audience a glimpse into her soul.
The show began on time so there was an unfortunately small audience of about twenty. As the show went on, however, people responded to their Havertime clock and began to trickle in. By the end of the show, an audience of just under forty accumulated, and it is truly a shame that more people didn’t get to experience Weiss’s musicianship.
Weiss came to Haverford after an invitation from her relative, Chris Healy ’09. He even performed with her for a few of the songs. The two shared good stage chemistry, and Healy’s improvised violin and vocal parts complemented Weiss for the most part. However, a tried and true musician like Weiss doesn’t need that kind of accompaniment to be great. I indeed preferred Weiss’s solo performance than collaboration. I’m not going to lie. There were several moments of obviously (and unfortunately) mismatched harmonies with Healy, but the fact that there were only several was impressive, especially when you consider that the two never performed together.
Weiss opened with a song about being late for a show and stranded at this gas station. The song included images of a Honduran truck driver laughing at her and a woman making her an unwanted arugula sandwich. With this song, we were introduced to her styles: talky vocals with soaring falsetto accompanied by her guitar, which she also used percussively. Her voice was at times reminiscent of Melissa Ethridge when she tried to surpass her comfortable register. Her scratchy, cool voice complemented the funny song very well.
“Shadow of Doubt” was a bluesy tune that she prefaced with the fact that when listening to the blues, at least you know that someone out there was feeling as bad as you. Healy’s improvised violin for this song was surely impressive, but Weiss rejected some impromptu plucking during the ending falsetto note.
Weiss played a fun song about Juanita, a 200-lb., over-alled 55-year-old woman she came across in a dance club. It included lyrics emphasizing everyone’s attraction to her despite her unconventionally beautiful appearance and her fashion choices, some of which became sing-alongs: “oooo-ooooover-allllls.” Another song was about the affair she wanted to but did not have entitled “The Song About the Affair that I am Not Having,” in which her voice reminded me of the lead singer of Heart.
My favorite as “Sorels,” named for the hefty, furry boots fit for the Arctic. This humorous ode to the boots that saved her from losing a limb to frostbite was evocative of a Kimya Dawson song, but without the underlying sadness.
Weiss performed “A Day of Celebration” with the S-Chords. My impression of Weiss included the notion that college a cappella was the polar opposite of “her thing,” but she was up for something new. Rob Harbison ’10 started singing “MMMBop” for a moment, but then got serious. His vocal percussion kept the at times cacophonous song together. Not only did the S-Chords help Weiss out, she encouraged the audience to sing along. And to my surprise, most everyone there sang along. In fact, it was the first time in a while where I didn’t feel like an idiot during audience participation, which I suppose is a testament to Weiss’s sincerity.
At times, Weiss reminded me of Norwegian pop singer Maria Mena, in the best possible way. Remember her song “You Are the Only One”? No? Whatever. Watch the awful music video if you care. Or you can just listen to Anne Weiss and enjoy an experienced, learned, excellent artist.
This article is © 2008 The Bi-College News. The material on this page is free for personal or educational use, but may not be reproduced, reprinted, republished, redistributed, or otherwise transmitted to a third party without the express written permission of The Bi-College News, 370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041.
Editor's note: Articles that appear in the Last Word section are works of satire.
- Fantasies and Reflections concert introduces audience to
- S-Chords Take Home the Bacon
- FUCS Review: The Prigs
- Jen Cohen Performs at Bryn Mawr
- Critical Mass is a Critical Buy
- Mirah Plays Philly’s First Unitarian Sanctuary
- Local singer Judy Paster gives lukewarm performance at the Point
- Folk Singers Help Launch Human Rights Week
- Pucci: Sport is Dance and Sport Intertwined
- Lyricfest
Related articles
