Music Review: Patty Reese at Austin Grill

>This review is a collaboration between Rockville Central friend Amy Ellis and myself.

Last Thursday March 13, 2008 we had the pleasure of listening to Patty Reese at the Austin Grill Rockville as part their Songwriters Showcase. Since she was awarded “Best Rock Vocalist” for 2007 from the Washington Area Music Association, we definitely wanted to hear her sing. Patty started strong and then used each song as a building block to reach an even higher level with the next, showcasing a rich and powerful voice capable of doing justice to a variety of music.

Although she was taking requests, which included Tracy Chapman, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan, her distinctive phrasing made each song her own. As teenagers, we listened to Stevie Nicks’ music, but as adults, we can’t remember the last time we heard Landslide, which really struck a chord in our hearts. Patty’s insightful interpretation of this song had a lovely, but mournful quality. Perhaps some of this change in perspective has to do with being older now and having experienced a lot more of life including motherhood, but it seemed that Patty’s rendition of this song uncovered shades of meaning in the lyrics that were not as evident in the original.

Before she began to play Tom Petty’s Breakdown, Patty said that it would be even better with a second guitar. Regardless, we enjoyed hearing her “unplugged” version of this song and thought the solo guitar work was excellent. The acoustic set was a very nice showcase for her considerable talent as a guitarist in addition to her fine voice.

We suspect that her flawless ability to play requests for the crowd is the reason that she does so many cover songs, but anyone who has listened to her recorded music would rather have had the chance to hear her originals. Our solution was to buy two of her cds, Here and Now and Patty Reese ep. Next time, we’ll know what to request and it will be written by her!

Patty Reese will be playing at Austin Grill Rockville regularly, the second Thursday of each month starting at around 8:30 PM. As always, there is never a cover charge at Austin Grill just food, drink, and live music.

Share and enjoy:

Hide Sites