Sally Seltmann – Le Cagibi – Thursday, June 17th 2010
Opening the show was Montreal’s own Molly Sweeney. Seeing Sweeney was like two performances for the price of one. Half of her set was sung in a high register that sounded shrill as it rattled off Cagibi’s patina ceiling. Sweeney’s operaesque voice was not very suited to a room like Cagibi. With a rather archaic PA system and a lack of any echo, it resonated like Tori Amos with laryngitis. That isn’t to say Sweeney is without talent. Far the opposite. The other half of Sweeney’s set was sung in a lower register. Within these songs, Sweeney’s voice was deeper, smoother and serene. Accompanied by some lovely violin, standup bass and mandolin, Sweeney’s folkier songs shone. As the sun slowly set, a breeze flowed through the room, and Sweeney launched into a ‘Hotel California’ sounding number, I felt very much at peace.
As Sally Seltmann was getting setup onstage, I sipped on a grape soda and watched the cyclists, strollers and dogs stream by. Seltmann, accompanied by a celloist, would deliver a stripped-down set of her new album Heart That’s Pounding. Though Seltmann apologized for not being able to give us her usual performance with drums, guitars and all the bells and whistles, she had nothing to be sorry about. Despite her bare bones set, Seltmann’s songs were surprisingly rich and captivating. Dressed in a red crushed velvet jacket and heels that made her legs look spindly tall, Seltmann looked poised and confident rather than awkward or shy as she sang exposed in front of dusty green wall. Starting out her acoustic set with the lullaby ‘Book Song,’ and transitioning into the more up-tempo and jubilant ‘Set Me Free,’ it was nice to hear the subtleties in Seltmann’s voice. ‘Emotional Champ’, an older song from when Seltmann used to perform under the moniker New Bufallo, filled the room with its swirling keyboards and grand refrain. It’s hard to not to appreciate the little touches that Seltmann adds to her songs, like the barbershop voices of ‘Sentimental Seeker’. Seltmann continued to coo away with the therapeutic anthem ‘On The Borderline’ and the ‘Harmony To My Heartbeat’. It wouldn’t be fair to pigeonhole Seltmann as all sunshine and lollipops. Whipping out her electric guitar for the mournful ‘I’m the Drunk and You’re the Star’, Seltmann revealed her darker side. Ending her set with her newest single, the gooey and peppy ‘Dream About Changing,’ I felt like I was in a Disney movie.
The beauty of Seltmann’s music is that for a brief moment you can forget your quips and qualms, and feel like a better and happier person. For while we go about daily lives being constantly bombarded with reminders of all the things we have going against us, I appreciate the deluded fantasy of someone telling me it’s all going to be alright. Thanks Sally! – Kelly Oksenberg
Sally Seltmann
Molly Sweeney
Photography by Kenneth Suss
