Ms. Bode, a twenty-seven year old singer from St. Louis who is quietly putting together a solid career, was accompanied by the standard Nat King Cole three piece band with piano, bass, and drums. Her voice is a young combination of Ella Fitzgerald and Karla Bonoff, with a touch of Eva Cassidy, if you can imagine that. And she has so many positives going for her I think some big things might be in front of her.
The show was a mix of originals and unusual covers, and she should be complimented on both. Her originals, either penned by herself or her piano player Adam Maness, are catchy sentimental ballads or bluesy tunes with a bit of swing to them. Amongst the standouts included the opening tune “Feet Off the Ground,” “A Long, Long, Time,” “Northern Lights,” and a sentimental ballad about a lost college romance called “St. Louis Song.” The fact that she did so many originals, and they were almost all good, was the surprise for the night and I think will pay off for her in the long run.
As far as covers go, I was expecting a night of Gershwin and Porter and Fields, but instead was pleasantly surprised by mostly newer songs. And, for the most part, Ms. Bode put a unique and fresh spin on almost every one of them. The only real standard, if you want to call it that, was “Something Good,” a song Richard Rogers wrote for the film version of The Sound of Music. The highlights were great versions of Bob Dylan’s “Tonight I’ll be Staying Here with You,” and U2’s “Still Haven’t Found (What I’m Looking For). Both songs were done with unique, simple piano arrangements that brought out the best in her voice and the band behind her. She also did a Stevie Wonder song (“I Can’t Help It”) and several penned by Paul Simon (“Graceland” and "Born at the Right Time") in the same style.
After spending an evening watching her perform, you can’t help but to like Erin Bode. She has very good stage presence, and is a confident storyteller in and around her songs. A table of Seventy-ish fans during intermission kept calling her a “cute kid,” and one of my tablemates called her “sincerely sweet.” She has big eyes and a great smile, and she uses them in both her singing and interaction with the audience.
NightTown is a perfect place for these types of shows, and their performance area was filled with patrons who came for both dinner and the show. (By the way, I highly recommend doing it that way. The mushroom and blue cheese stuffed raviolis were outstanding!) They have some great shows coming up, where you can see some very talented performers in an extremely intimate setting. Jazz legends the Yellowjackets are doing two shows on Thursday, June 20, and for all of you 1970’s progressive rockers, Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express will be there for two nights on Tuesday, June 25, and Wednesday, June 26.
Since upgrading their sound system along with several other recent improvements, NightTown packs a lot of sound into a small setting, giving Greater Clevelanders a chance to see some real music heavyweights, as well as up-and-comers like Erin Bode, in one of the best rooms in the city. For more about Erin Bode check her out at her website http://www.erinbode.com, and for more about upcoming shows at NightTown go to http://www.nighttowncleveland.com.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Greg Cielec cielecAThotmail.com (:divend:)