She'll Sing the Blues for You

[Anita Rosamond appeared at The Cabaret at Savor in St. Louis on April 11th and 12th, 2008. This is my review for KDHX-FM.]

Cabaret is such a diverse genre that I hesitate to make sweeping statements about it. I think, however, that I'm on safe ground with this one: when the best thing about the show is the harmonica player, something is probably a half bubble off center somewhere.

Granted, the harmonica player was Sandy Weltman, one of the true virtuosos of the instrument and a musician of impeccable taste, so it's difficult for him not to stand out. But the star of this first entry in The Cabaret at Savor's "Cabaret in Blue" series last Friday [April 11th, 2008] was supposed to be local singer/pianist Anita Rosamond. The fact that she was often upstaged, however unintentionally, by Weltman and her other sideman, guitarist Shaun Robinson, is an illustration of the importance of not violating the two Prime Directives of Solo Performance: know the room and know the audience.

The Flim-Flam Room at Savor has received much praise from performers and public alike for its retro-cool faux Egyptian décor (inspired by magician John Neville Maskelyne's famed Egyptian Hall in London), intimacy, and intelligent layout. Seating around 65 at small café tables of graduated height, the Flim-Flam provides a good view of the tiny stage from just about anywhere in the house. The audience at those tables comes prepared to focus on the performer rather than chatting amongst themselves - which the size of the place discourages in any event.

If you're going to play this room, you need to have a strong song list with lyrics worth hearing, an interesting line of between-song patter, and a consistent theme or point of view that will engage the audience from the top of the show. In short, you need a cabaret act. Unfortunately that's not what Ms. Rosamond has.

What she has is a lounge act. It was a very good and generally entertaining lounge act, especially when she came out from behind the piano, which effectively concealed her from most of the house. The songs - sixteen blues, R&B and rock standards on the order of "Blue Suede Shoes", "Walkin' in the Rain", "Sweet Home Chicago" and (of course) "The St. Louis Blues" - were as familiar and comfortable as an old shoe. Ms. Rosamond delivered them all in a consistently unbuttoned manner with an appropriately smoky voice that can soulful, silky or earthy as needed.

In fact she was, if anything, just a bit too consistent. Regardless of lyric content, there was a certain sameness to her performances that made Mr. Robinson and Mr. Weltman's impressive solo breaks a welcome change of pace. In a lounge or supper club, of course, this wouldn't be that much of an issue since the audience in those venues isn't as intensely focused on the entertainer.

Ms. Rosamond's frequent attempts to get the audience to sing along also seemed more appropriate for a noisier and less focused environment. It's a lot easier to get folks to join in if they're already chatting with their neighbors. At the Film-Flam, that kind of thing would be far too distracting - rather like turning your back on someone with whom you were having a conversation.

All this is a pity because Ms. Rosamond is clearly a very talented woman with good musical instincts and a joy in performing that is positively contagious. What she needs to do, if she wants to continue doing cabaret, is write some interesting patter that tells us more about the songs and what they mean to her and, perhaps, give more thought to the lyrics. A bit more variety in the song list wouldn't hurt either. With some work, she could have a solid show on her hands.

Anyone who has ever been mesmerized by Paula West (who returns to Savor May 14th through 17th) or Jessica Molaskey knows that singers with a blues and/or jazz background have much to contribute to the art of cabaret. Ms. Rosamond has the opportunity to make her mark there as well. Perhaps, to quote a familiar jazz lyric, this could be the start of something big. Time (to paraphrase another) is on her side.

The Cabaret at Savor's Cabaret in Blue series pauses for two entries in the main season - Susan Werner April 23rd through 26th and Jimmy Webb April 30th through May 2nd. It picks up again with Renee Smith on May 9th and 10th and concludes May 23rd and 24th with Uvee Hayes. At least, that's the way it looks as this is being written. Given producer Jim Dolan's dedication to expanding the series, the spring season could easily extend into the summer. Check out the web site, cabaretatsavor.com , for the current schedule.