Friendsgiving Music with YVETTE YOUNG! Gig Review from Seattle, WA 11/19/17
Yvette Young
So Much Light
Beyond The
Woods
El Corazon
Seattle, WA
11/19/17
Greetings,
I went into this show thinking I was a guitarist. Granted, I realize my chops are fairly non-
existent at this point but I can still play a bit when the time calls. I left this show knowing I'm not much of a
guitarist.
Why you ask?
I watched in admiration and defeat as Yvette Young played
her Cort acoustic/electric guitar with the ease of a master. She also sang on many of her tunes at the
same time. My guitars will now serve me
in another capacity - perhaps a coffee table, as I don't have one.
In all seriousness, I was looking forward to a
music-oriented night on Sunday at El Corazon.
What I mean by that is every show I've seen at El Corazon, and Graceland
before it, etc. has either been metal, hard rock, punk, or something
similar. I know they get the indie
artist in there and locals as well (many locals as a matter of fact) but for me
when I saw folding chairs in front of the stage I knew this was going to be a
music-oriented show.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Yvette Young before the
show upstairs in the green room. Any
time I've been able to speak to an artist before their set, it always impacts
how I hear/see their performance. I'm
thinking about what we discussed during the interview and then how that shapes
what they're doing on stage. This has
always been a plus, never a minus.
Yvette Young was no exception.
There was a good crowd on hand for the first band - locals
called Beyond The Woods. A four-piece
performing acoustically, they had many friends and family members in
attendance. They performed a direct half
hour set of instrumentals. Their
musicianship was definitely noticeable, at least to me it was. I understand that they're normally a rocked
out progressive metal band so this set was something unusual for them. The songs were there and they went over well
with the somewhat biased crowd. But,
hey, I didn't know them from a hole in the wall and I enjoyed their set,
too. I'd be interested in checking them
out in their normal environment of headbanging madness. Let me know, guys.
After a short changeover, the touring special guest slot
took the stage. So Much Light was the
project of one man. I was going to say
young man but like half of the people I review are young men compared to me so
I'll just say man. Backed with a guitar,
laptop, pedal board, drum machine, and other gadgets, So Much Light played a
set of songs that were hard to describe.
At times singer-songwriter and others pop influenced, the songs were
performed from the heart, usually playing electric guitar while singing lead on
the tunes. He had good in between song
banter, which is normally the trademark of someone that has gigged around. I enjoyed his set as well. Things were off to a great start with the
first two artists.
This left the headliner who I came to see - Yvette
Young. Yvette definitely had her fans in
attendance, some of whom I think I saw her when her band Covet played the Vera
Project earlier this year. She came out
to sit on a stool, coffee cup on the floor by her feet, with an
acoustic/electric guitar and a microphone.
The set was markedly different than Covet. She sang on nearly every tune she played
while performing her freakishly good guitar technique on her acoustic
guitar. Finger picking and two hand
playing, Yvette's songs felt very, very personal to these ears. I would love to read the lyrics to her songs as
I think they would shed even more light on this topic.
Her voice reminded me of Vienna Teng. I know it's not kosher for some to compare an
artist to another but there are definitely parallels between the two. Vienna Teng is also one of the best examples
of artists out there so this is a high compliment. (If you're reading this Yvette, I'll message
you about Vienna's music and her life story).
I have to hand it to the crowd Sunday night. They were pin-drop quiet. It was a beautiful and much appreciated way
to absorb every note of music that was being performed. Yvette Young is an artist with such humble
yet strong intentions. It was truly a
pleasure attending her concert and she, like a few others I've met this year,
reaffirmed that we artist types are everywhere.
The show ended earlier than I'm used to but it wasn't short. It was just right. For all you readers out there, who also
consider themselves artistic, go check out Yvette Young, Covet, and anything
else she does. You can feel her wings
artistically spreading as she continues to explore and grace us with her art.
Believe me, you'll want to go along for this ride. Cheers!
Kind regards,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts
Special Thanks:
Yvette Young for guesting me and for taking the time to do the video
interview. I enjoyed meeting you and
learning more about your work. I hope I
can cover your show again the next time you're in the area. Thank you!
Video Interview with Yvette Young
Live from El Corazon
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