2003
*notes:
with band. Fil Krohnengold of Morgan Taylor’s Rock Group (http://www.mtrg.net) and David Poe’s band (http://www.davidpoe.com) on piano, Julia Kent on cello, and Aaron Kant on drums. Jason Darling played on the last song. Rain Phoenix guested as backing vocalist on “Only One Kind Of Love” and “Calling.”
R E V I E W S :
Great great great show – but too short! she only played about, I don’t know, an hour or so – all new songs with the exception of Charm Attack and the encore, Panic-Stricken, with Jason Darling on guitar and backing vocals. There was a piano player/backup vocalist (cute), drummer and cellist. Leona was using like five guitars, one of which is Ryan’s old acoustic with the Indianapolis Speedway sticker on it. She had a guitar tech there who was doing her tunings for her. She was a little bit rude to the guitar tech, but she apologized for it later in the set, claiming nervousness. Oh yeah, and she also brought Rain Phoenix on to sing backup on a couple songs, and play tambourine on one. Leona was lookin mighty pretty in a black tank, black mid-length denim (or somethin’) skirt, and some cute retro brown sandals with chunky heel. She wore about seventeen different hairstyles no, but she kept changing her hair, then said, “I keep changing my hair…because I can.” Can’t wait to see her at Makor next month!
- C. Sullivan
Fez’s is small and intimate. Good place to see a show if you don’t mind being a bit cramped. Leona had drummer, pianist, and cellist. She sang beautifully. Mostly new songs I think. Some old. I apologize, but I’ve only just started to listen to her so I do not have a grasp on song titles. Rain Phoenix sang back up on two songs and did a lovely job. Leona was making fun of her set-up assistant who seemed to consistently set-up for the next song (i.e., guitar changes) incorrectly. Leona kept telling her she was fired and intimated that maybe she had been drinkin. All done in a playful way though. Leona only played for an hour (too short!) and did one encore. The encore was of her and friend of hers that wrote the song (don’t know his name, sorry) but the song was gorgeous. Had some line like “Mama’s hand leading the way”. Leona wore a black shitr, black skirt, and couldn’t decide if she wanted her hair up or down. She said she kept changing it because “well I can”. She must have and a large group of friends there because there was much yelling during her songs. All in all a very good time. Catch her if you can.
- Pixie
It’s hard for me to write a review because i did not know lots of the titles. She played with a drummer, a female playing what looked like a big cello and a keyboard player. Leona switched guitars after every song to accommodate her tuning. Some of the songs played in no particular order were “Oh How Sweet”, “Star Signs”, and Leona had a female backup singer/friend sing on 2 songs “Love Sweet Love” and the closer “Calling”. After no more than 30 seconds Leona was back onstage to do an encore of “Panic Stricken” which she called on Jason Darling to play with her. Most of the songs were all new stuff from the forthcoming new cd with exception of a few, “Charm Attack” and i think opening up with “Weak Strong Heart”. Don’t hold me to that though. One of the most interesting songs was this new song that i never heard that is just Leona singing with her keyboard player. What a passionate song and nice strong vocals. She really shines on this one. And the “Calling” had a little makeover with the additional backup vocalist. During the chorus Leona would be singing “Who knows, what you really would say, what you really would do”….while the backup singer would be repeating “I’m calling can you hear me” and so on. It was really cool. You have to hear it to really understand what i am talking about. The place was really cool. Me and a friend got there before 7 to have a few drinks and catch up and we Leona was there getting some food. She greeted us with a hello and went on her way. At about 8, they let us downstairs to be seated. The place was soooo nice. We ordered food and then a little after 9 Leona came on and performed. She was on a little more than an hour. Place was pretty full. I was told some people were being turned away but i cant attest to that. After Leonas set she passed our table and i was able to get in a few words with her and she took a pic with me. She is so cool.
- Mitch
