From: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org (navy-soup-digest) To: navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Subject: navy-soup-digest V4 #164 Reply-To: navy-soup@smoe.org Sender: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk navy-soup-digest Friday, November 30 2001 Volume 04 : Number 164 In This Digest: ----------------- ugh [What? Management ] Re: Sarah at Arbor Room, U of T ["Tab Siddiqui" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 10:36:46 -0500 From: What? Management Subject: ugh Yup. What some of you have feared is happening. We're having to postpone Philly and NYC. We're clinging to hope for Rochester on Saturday. We're all disappointed, Sarah especially - she's dying to get out and play her new stuff for you all, but under all present circumstances we fully understand things taking slightly longer than usual. All things relative in the world, this is a minor inconvenience. Watch for Sarah in January (we must have our P2s by then, right?!). We're going to make this up to all of you. Ugh, Heather PS - Remarkably off-topic, but does anyone have any tips about taking face-offs...? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2001 02:19:39 From: "Tab Siddiqui" Subject: Re: Sarah at Arbor Room, U of T Joolian wrote: >James, Tab, Paul and I were all there; it was a very good show. Hart >House >occasionally has really good music (I think -- if I'm not >mistaken -- that >I've seen Miranda Stone play there.) I believe Tab's >going to be writing >an article about the show for some on-campus >publication sometime soon, >maybe the Varsity? >Stay tuned... As per usual with these *lovely* campus rags, the Slean review was unfortunately cut from this week's issue when we ran out of space. Oh, I know y'all are just as disappointed as I am. ;-) So see below. The space was actually taken up by my review of the 'other' Sarah, La Harmer (I promise to stop mentioning her after this, truly ;)). Ifr anyone wants to read it, it's here: http://www.thevarsity.ca/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=153207 (Slean review is below.) - - Tab :) New weekly music showcase Stages brought home former U of T music student and current buzz girl Sarah Slean for an intimate solo show last Thursday at Hart House's Arbor Room. A fixture on the local music scene for the past several years, the piano songstress is poised on the verge of a major breakthrough with the upcoming February release of her major-label debut album, *The Nightbug Orchestra*. Like her contemporary Sarah Harmer, Slean has slowly and steadily built a solid career through word-of-mouth and constant touring, moving up from dragging her keyboard to the coffeehouses to full-band cabaret extravaganzas at Lee's Palace. So it was a rare treat to see Slean play an intimate space like the Arbor Room. Packed with students and longtime supporters, the overly-warm cafe with its poor acoustics was overcome by Slean's charming stage presence and crystalline voice. Moving effortlessly between older numbers from her previous album and newer songs from the forthcoming release, Slean offset the often melancholy nature of her lyrics with her loopy, amusing between-song anecdotes. Newer tunes like "Everything By the Gallon" and a brand-new "unfinished" song lean heavily towards cabaret stylings - a modern spin on the sounds of old Paris, Broadway musicals, and a dash of Leonard Cohen. They're a far cry from the darker, more melodic older songs on Slean's 1999 *Blue Parade* release, like "Playing Cards With Judas", which elicited a huge cheer from the old fans in the audience. In fact, Slean's evolution from budding earnest singer-songwriter to consummate musician has been remarkable for anyone who has had the pleasure of watching her develop from a timid, almost hesitant performer to one who now plays as if she's poured every inch of her heart and soul into the music. Watching Slean alone at the piano onstage, it seems almost as if she's entirely lost in her own world, the only one in the room. That being said, perhaps the show's casual, convivial vibe had relaxed Slean a little too much, as upbeat pop tune "Sweet Ones" yielded a few sour notes, and while her clarion vocals were strong throughout, the accompanying playing didn't always match up. But it's actually nice to know that even the staggeringly talented aren't perfect - Slean allowed that she was a little nervous being back at her old stomping grounds: "You see, in this school, in the music department, they'll try to tell you that there are rules. And you have to say to them, 'All right, then.'" Anyone who can get an entire room of people to warble "Edelweiss", as Slean did for her encore, has got to be doing something right. With any luck, we'll be seeing this Sarah at Convocation Hall in coming years, too. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ End of navy-soup-digest V4 #164 *******************************