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Decent Quality Since 1847

Niemietz Live

7/10/2017

6 Comments

 
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I had totally by chance come across the video of a wonderful young singer, Sara Niemietz, who in addition to her own solo career also occasionally fronts for a group called PostModern Jukebox.  I've posted a couple of her terrific videos, including here, and mentioned that -- as whimsy would have it -- she was going to be performing in Hollywood just a week later.

That "week later" was this past weekend, on Saturday night.  It was a launch concert for her new CD, held at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood.  (As further whimsy would have it, I went to see the movie The Hero on Sunday, and a scene takes place at a concert in...the Hotel Cafe!  Very bizarre.  I sat in the movie theater having a sort of ethereal experience, particularly because I hadn't even heard of the small venue until a week ago.)

The concert was a joy.  There were three other musicians, including the legendary composer/arranger Snuffy Walden on guitar, and two back-up singers.  Ms. Niemietz also played guitar on many of her numbers.  She has an incredibly affectionate personality that comes out wonderfully on stage -- in fact, I'd have loved for her to interact even more with the audience, since she creates such a connection.

Most of the songs were originals from her new CD, Travel Light, including a particularly-terrific one called "Monroe."  In addition, I quite enjoyed, "Don't Walk Me Home" and "Streets I Used to Know," both of which stood out for me.  But all the new songs had good things about them.  What leaps out from all her songs, though -- original and covers alike -- is her soaring, smokey-voice with wonderful, insightful interpretations.  She can go from booming out that envelopes a room, switching on a dime to soft-and-tender whispers, and then into glass-shattering high notes. (At a few points, I occasionally wished for sharper diction, since the sound system or perhaps acoustics, while good, didn't always always balance well, and everything wasn't as clear as would be ideal.  Though usually it was all spot-on.)

If I have any other quibble about the show it's that having seen several of her videos at this point on YouTube, it's obvious how good she is on stage, moving around and connecting with the audience.  But with her guitar and microphone stand, she seemed more locked into one place on stage here than would otherwise bring out her best.  In part, though, I think that's because the Hotel Cafe has a very small stage, and it was full of six people plus instruments, so there wasn't a great deal of space to move.


As much as I admire her original songs, she does such especially-fascinating jobs on her covers of older numbers.  And that's not always the case with singers, who either sing the classics "as is," or interpret them to death, to the point of unrecognizable.  But she gives them a freshness that also harkens back to their original intent.  She didn't do many of them that night (which I was sorry about, since she's SO good at them, but I completely understand singing one's own original songs -- most particularly because it was a launch-event for her new CD).  But two that she did nail out of the park were "My Funny Valentine" and "At Last."

Though some people were taking videos, I chose not to.  But here's a concert video of her singing, "My Funny Valentine" at the 2015 Rock 'n' Roll Benefit for Children in Washington, D.C.  I think she was probably around 23 at the time, so it's all the more impressive to hear her thoughtful interpretation.  This particular version runs a bit longer than an in-studio video she has, but there's a reason -- she performs it here with Snuffy Waldren on guitar, but then as she's almost-finished, the highly-regarded saxophonist Mark Rivera (among many other credits, he's been in Billy Joel's band for 25 years) starts playing off in the wings. She waves him onstage, and they improv another verse.

(As further whimsy would have it, public television here in Los Angeles re-ran the other day the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize concert for Billy Joel, which I recorded and watched last night.  And there was Mark Rivera throughout the whole thing.)

I decided to post this video rather than her much shorter in-studio version of this song, not only to hear her improv with Rivera, but also so you could have a better chance of seeing Niemietz in concert, where she is so ingratiating on stage (even though still somewhat low-key here).  Beyond that, however, I figure it's also nice for me to post one of her songs here other than the two versions I've had of "Love Yourself," if only as proof that she can sing more than just that...


And since the only performances of hers that I've posted thus far have been covers, I wanted to include one of her original songs, the aforementioned "Monroe," which I especially liked.  It's an absolutely endearing love song, full of charm and warmth..


​If you're interested in her new CD, Travel Light, you can get it here for only $10, either as a hard copy CD or digital album.  As I said, she sang most of the numbers during her concert (probably all of them, but I'm not great at remembering song titles), and I liked them all, though to varying degrees.

For the life of me, I don't understand why she doesn't have a record deal yet, but I have to believe it's coming.  For someone this terrific -- as both a singer and stage performer, as well as writer of original material and interpreter of classics (and with someone like Snuffy Waldren so solidly behind her) -- it's only a matter of time.
6 Comments
Becky Jabbaz link
7/10/2017 08:14:00 pm

I am a very close friend of the Niemietz. Thank you so much for your wonderful review. I know it in my heart that her record deal is coming soon. Sara is like a daughter to me, and the most humble person you can find on this earth; just one of a kind individual with a great heart and blessed with so much talent, a unique artist in all the sense of the word! She could not have a better mentor than Snuffy Walden! I enjoyed her show at Hotel Cafe on Saturday 7/8/17, what
a Superb evening that was!

Reply
Robert Elisberg
7/11/2017 10:44:56 am

Becky, thanks much for your note. Writing my article was the easy part, since the show was that wonderful, as is Sara's talent. I'm not surprised to learn about how she is as in individual, since that comes through in small ways, with glances, smiles, movements and expressions of wonderment in concert videos, things that are matters of personality, not performance. I have to believe too, as I say in the piece, that a record deal is coming. In the meantime, thank goodness this is an era where a talent can push their career forward as she's been doing so well.

Reply
Steve Kritzer
7/11/2017 01:17:14 am

Besides having great musical taste, Sara has the advantage of learning very young what she wanted to be and then made that happen.

In addition to Snuffy Walden, a few other people with household names have noticed her talents, Richard Marx, B.J. Thomas, Keb' Mo', Melissa Manchester and Ellen Degeneres to name a few.

I agree that accompanying herself on guitar does somewhat limit her expressiveness, I highly recommend watching her cover of "Pokemon" with Postmodern Jukebox for an example of her acting and singing talent combined. She seriously sells this song, where there must have been a lot of laughter involved in getting it to video.

BTW: Her first "record deal" was a Mattel/Burger King promotional CD, we have no Idea how many millions of copies of "Perfect Kinda Day" reached homes around the world in 2006.

Reply
Robert Elisberg
7/11/2017 11:01:25 am

Steve, I appreciate the note. Of course, the streets are lined with people who know what they want to do, but can't get to it for any number of reasons. Even talented people. But having huge talent, a focused goal and all that support combined certainly does help significantly in getting along that path.

That's a great, and not surprising list you note. And I'll assume your own name can be added to it...

I want to be clear that my talking about her playing the guitar was NOT a criticism, but merely a "quibble." She plays wonderfully, and it adds to a performer persona when they can showcase all their talents. But since -- as you note as well -- she has the added ability of stage personality, which so few can reach, it sets her far apart from the pack and something I think she should make sure doesn't get hidden. But I suspect that tiny stage on Saturday played a part in limiting things.

In fact, I *did* see the "Pokemon" video you mention. I avoided it for the longest time -- for the obvious reason -- but profound curiosity finally got the better of me, and it of course is a gem. You're right, the ability to sell piffle is the mark of an artist. And yes, I can only imagine the laughter.

(P.S. I firmly believe this and even wrote about this concept. Do you know Robert Preston's performance of the exercise song, "Chicken Fat"? It's a lesson to all singers, to totally sell something SO silly. I wrote an article on it, and "hits" on my site skyrocketed a year later when Apple used a copy of it for a TV ad. Here's the article and song -- http://www.elisbergindustries.com/blog/go-you-chicken-fat-go)

Again, thanks.

Reply
Steve Kritzer
7/17/2017 08:27:16 pm

Thanks, shared your article with my folks, they love "Music Man."

Congrats on the exposure for that article, I'm working on something along those lines, I'll drop you a note when the SEO tool is ready.

Reply
Robert Elisberg
7/18/2017 06:01:40 pm

Ah, great. Glad to hear that. Yes, that performance of Robert Preston singing "Chicken Fat" by Meredith Willson is like a Long Lost Song from "The Music Man." But you see what I mean about my agreeing with you, having written previously how being able to sell even the simplest, silliest number is a fine and rare art.

Please do update me. Thanks.




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    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.



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