The Audio Perv

By Marianne Spellman (Popthomology.com)

If I hauled out the amount of superlatives that I would like to in reviewing Imelda May’s performance at Seattle’s Neptune Theater, you and I would be here all day long, and you also might become a little skeptical. Oh, right, no one can be that good, you’d say, and then I would have to say that, no, someone can be that good.

So I will get right to the bottom line: Imelda May is one of the most talented, most entertaining, most exciting, most glamorous, and most down-to-earth performers I have ever had the pleasure to hear and photograph in concert. Or in ‘50s hepcat parlance, suitable to her retro rockabilly style, Imelda May was “in the pocket, a real barn burner, supermurgitroid, 18 karat, and too, too much.”

The audience, from kids to grandparents, was totally on May’s side from the moment she walked out onstage, literally roaring approval after each song. This rapturous reception seemed to supercharge the already razor-sharp band (May’s husband Darrel Higham on guitar, Steve Rushton on drums, Al Gare on standup and electric bass, and Dave Priseman on trumpet, acoustic guitar and percussion) on this last show of the U.S. tour. The Neptune just buzzed with high energy the entire night. May also proved to be a charming hostess. When a fan shouted out, “Nice dress!” referring to her vibrant yellow-and-black striped shift, the Irish-born May replied in possibly the cutest accent ever, “Do you like it? It’s my boom-blebee dress!” Her willingness to connect with the audience was totally refreshing and genuine. She also was no-nonsense, once calling out those who chose to chat loudly during one of the quieter tunes, and stopping the show for a few moments to inquire about the welfare of a child that had been taken away from the front of the stage, even offering a spot for the child to watch the show from the side onstage.

But the most remarkable aspect to Imelda May was her powerhouse of a voice which faltered not once in the evening, through melodic slow soulful ballads to jazzy upbeat swing to screaming blasts of rock ‘n roll. Her range seemed effortless, and she used her entire body as she sang, arms and hands beckoning to the crowd, opened wide, thrown to the sky, and her wide smile visible from even the last row in the Neptune’s balcony.

May and her band played almost every song from her most recent release, “Mayhem,” and threw in some great covers (“Train Kept A-Rollin’,” “My Baby Left Me,” and a wild update of “Tainted Love” for an encore). At the end of the show, she thanked everyone profusely for supporting the album and the tour, and band and fans left the Neptune on a definite high. Imelda May is quite a talent, and a real treasure.

The show was opened by two local Seattle acts. Aaron Daniel’s “One Man Banned” was just that – one guy onstage, supplementing his vocals and guitar with multi-layered live loops, similar to Tune-yards in creation of sound, but with a harder and more mainstream feel, sometimes reminiscent of Kings Of Leon with a hip-hop rhythm flair. Daniel’s strong vocals were a standout. Following Daniel were traditional rockabilly purveyors The Roy Kay Trio, who were crowd-pleasers with their original blend of the earliest rock n’ roll styles with a country influence.

Imelda May, Neptune Theatre, Seattle WA 8/12/11 setlist:

Pullin’ the Rug
Love Tattoo
Poor Boy
Train Kept A-Rollin’
Go Tell the Devil
Big Bad Handsome Man
Proud and Humble
Sneaky Freak
Kentish Town Waltz
Smokers Song
All For You
Eternity
Inside Out (Remix)
Bury My Troubles Away
Let Me Out
Whatcha Gonna Do
Psycho
Mayhem
Johnny Got A Boom Boom
(encore)
Tainted Love
My Baby Left Me

All photos courtesy of Marianne Spellman. Check out her flickr page for more.