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look sharp
May 24, 2005
so, i was scheduled to work at halcyon sunday morning, and i made sure i got there early enough to open everything up, and to seize control of the stereo system.
in any decent good coup d'etat, the military junta/pissed populace/cia operatives posing as locals capture the radio and television stations. as we all know from our current administration and the 24 hours news outlets, if the t.v. and radio says someone's in control, the populace will acquiesce with a minimum of fuss.
i made a weak, momentarily successful attempt on saturday morning, and got to open with some stuff from ian moore's most recent album, "luminaria," and was about to roll to some other stuff, when a grouchy and late frank came in and took over the music. he played the usual assortment of hideous noises that has earned his selections the title of Worst Music Ever. think of a comfy coffeehouse at 9:30 on a saturday morning. a nice mocha latte, the paper, sunlight wafting in through the old windowpanes.
the insistent pump of latino club music, broken up occasionally by shakira. loud. at, like, 8 on the volume dial.
it ain't right for a coffeehouse. it ain't right for mammals, or really any animal with ears and the sense not to poop on itself.
so sunday was my day. i loaded up a playlist on the ipod. radiohead, aimee mann, anthony hamilton, blind boys of alabama, carole king, the cardigans, chris cornell, coldplay, sharon jones and the dap kings, the shins...
as in the more dull coup d'etats, the regime in power fell without a fight. frank dragged through the door minutes before we opened, unarmed, without a single cd. i allowed him to add to the playlist. he was able to find some of the only club music on the iPod - an inexplicable and interminable club mix of madonna's remake of "beautiful stranger." he was also pacified by some gwen stefani, which i had no objection to.
the morning went slowly, which was a good thing. customers filtered in slowly. they liked the music. people were staying, bobbing their heads, rather than the running and the screaming and squirting of blood from the ears. it was a good thing.
one girl came in, ordered her stuff with a genuine and lovely smile, kicked off her shoes and set up shop in a comfy chair near the front, where she was joined by a friend.
at some point, she came for a refill, and asked who was playing - it was anthony hamilton, the accoustic version of "comin' from where i'm from" that billy had turned me on to. she dug it. i was impressed.
she stayed until just before two, and came up to the counter as we were getting ready for the shift change. she handed me her cd, and introduced herself as sarah sharp, and said she liked our music.
my brain clicked. but... slowly. i played it off smoothly...
"duuurrrrrrrr. uh... i think i've heard of you?"
as it turns out, i should have. she's blowin' up not just around austin, but everywhere. she gets play on kgsr and other stations that occasionally play actual music. she just got back from cannes, where a movie she wrangled music for and that features one of her songs was shown.
i gave the album a listen, but it didn't catch me, probably because by that time, i could barely stay awake to drive home at 3 in the afternoon. but when i woke up sunday night, i gave it a real listen, and liked it, but found that it continued to grow on me over the next day. heather suggests that i'm being unconsciously swayed by the fact that in the picture on the back of the album, she seems to be offering me a chip well-doused in salsa at what appears to be maria's taco express. mmm... chip... maybe there is something to that.
at any rate, last night, i went to her show at momo's. granted, it was apparently a bit impromptu and not publicized much at all, but it seemed like the small crowd was made up primarily of friends and family, which, i have to say, just means a lot of people are really missing out.
with just her and a guitarist named "buffalo speedway" and a guitarist/keyboard player named dave, she completely sold me. k.d. lang singing "crying" and "till the heart caves in," finally hearing peter gabriel sing my all-time favorite song, "mercy street," aimee mann singing "invisible ink," tori amos... and now, sarah sharp singing a song called "surrender," are the concert moments that moved me to tears.
incredibly beautiful vocals with some of the most delicately nuanced turns and shifts i've ever heard from a vocalist, with deceptively simple songwriting. you need to see this.
this saturday night, she opens for patrice pike at momo's at 8:30. it's the only thing i know for certain i'll do this weekend, and i hope some of you will join me...
Posted by Rob at May 24, 2005 10:52 AM
Comments
the link doesn't work to her website
Posted by: MikeB at May 24, 2005 01:24 PM
yeah, that's weird - it was the right address. i added the http bit and now it seems to work...
Posted by: Rob at May 24, 2005 01:51 PM