Photo by Samantha Lamb
Okay, so about a month or two ago, a friend of mine invited me to catch a concert at a place in San Francisco called Bottom of the Hill. I have been there with him before, but this time I did not know the bands that would be playing. I never heard of them, and knew nothing about them. I was nervous about the acts and was hoping my twelve or fifteen bucks was worth it (sorry if I sound cheap-I’m a college student!). Truth is, I enjoyed all three of the bands that performed that night and I thought each one deserved their own article/review, starting with the opening act. The first band to take the stage was Audra Mae.
Audra Mae walked on stage comfortably, accompanied by her stand-up bassist and introduced herself to the crowd. From the first to the last song, and everything in between, I was feeling it. She alone was worth the ticket price and restored my hope for the night. The minimal sound of just her acoustic guitar, the stand-up bass along with her stirring voice, was the kind of simplicity that can move you. At the end of the concert, I made sure to get a copy of her debut album called, The Happiest Lamb. Even though I just saw her perform all these songs I popped it in my car stereo to enjoy on the way home. Audra Mae’s bluesy-indie-folk sound was perfect for the ride home. The song content covered a range of topics from mischievous fun of “The Happiest Lamb”, to money problems on “Millionaire”, and the redemption from sins on “The River”. She covers a lot of topics but keeps you interested as she carries you from song to song. Audra Mae’s talent shines through on the album which was released on May 18, 2010, on SideOneDummy Records (label of Flogging Molly, Anti-flag…). So do yourself a favor, and pick this album up. Do yourself a bigger favor and watch her live! It is definitely worth it and she’s a cool person: I got to meet her and she signed the album for me! If you can’t see her live, at least get the album. Oh and here is a little fun fact that I found out while reading her bio; she happens to be the great niece of Judy Garland (sideonedummy.com). Judy Garland was the famous actress/singer who starred in The Wizard of Oz as well other movies: if you still don’t know who that is then do some research people. But I leave you with a clip of Audra Mae performing. If you want to find out more about her then you can click on the links below.
sideonedummy.com/bands/audra-mae
