Nellie McKay @ Dakota
Posted on April 7th, 2008 – 12:32 AMBy Jon Bream
On her first of three nights, the New York musical maverick was wacky and wonderful but went on a bit too long for my taste.
Here’s what she played on Sunday:
1. David 2. Politan 3. Toto Dies 4. If I Had You (standard) 5. Long and Lazy River 6. Mama and Me 7. Sari 8. I Am Nothing 9. Tisket a Tasket (standard) 10. Broadway Melody (from 1929) 11. Cupcake 12. Mother of Pearl 13. Pounce 14. Morning from the movie Election 15. Respectable 16. Oversure/Gin Rummy 18. The Dog Song 19. Zombie 20. Home Wrecker from Election 21. Manhattan Avenue ENCORE 22. It’s a Pose 23. I Wanna Get Married
What did you think of the show? Please comment here:
2 Responses to "Nellie McKay @ Dakota"
My wife and I first heard and heard of Ms. McKay when she appeared on Prairie Home Companion on January 26 of this year. We were taken immediately. Sunday’s set at the Dakota just served to reinforce our smitten state. We could have sat through many more songs, and lots more patter. It is unusual to get to know a performer a bit more deeply through the free release of ideas. (Billy Joel did a series of talks that were interactive and in which he used performance to make points and show examples.) Is Ms. McKay a bit James Joycian in her stream of consciousness? Thank goodness, yes. (By the way, I worked security for Bob Dylan once; she could have made her impression of him less intelligible and have been, in my opinion, on the mark. I recall one young woman standing in the front row, after showing her struggle to understand his words, implore him to “Sing in English!)
I first heard Nellie on the Late show perhaps 1 year ago or more and was enchanted by both her smooth and warm tone of her singing voice as well as her unusual musical style. She was simply like nothing I had ever encountered before, I believe she had performed “Long and Lazy River” which in many ways is a more conventional arrangement then most of her compositions. I had lost track of her for a while and yet was always interested in where her career was going. This past Christmas season I attended Aimee Mann’s 2nd annual Christmas show at the Guthrie Theater(Highly recommended I might add)and to my surprise Nellie McKay was touring with Aimee for this seasonal show, She was fabulous! It was such a pleasant surprise and unexpected…when she was scheduled to appear at the Dakota my girlfriend And I jumped at the chance to see her in the intimate setting of the Dakota Stage..(Last year Booker T & The MG’s were a special treat as well!)any how..Nellie is truly a MAD Genius at her craft. She is undefinable and incredibly insightful for such a youngster. The show was wonderful and hilarious and We loved everything she did (I still wish she would have played “Real Life”!)But maybe next time…Here’s to you Nellie..come on back to Minneapolis any old time…us “Midwesterners” (as you called us) need a good kick in the pants now and then…by the way Happy 26th Birthday (April 13th)….
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