Seattle’s Tractor Tavern is arguably the perfect place to see a folk-tinged show, with exposed brick walls, tractor tires and boots providing the greater part of the venue’s ambience. It was in this setting that, on a recent drizzly Monday night, Holly Figueroa, Edie Carey, and Anne Heaton, put on just the kind of engaging, thoroughly enjoyable, low-key show the Tractor seems to demand.
In a somewhat unusual twist on the notion of “headliner” and “opening acts,” the three women shared the stage for the entire evening, playing a single-song set each while the other two sat, then waiting patiently – or singing along – while the other two did the same. The frequent two- and three-part harmonies were gorgeous, and though seemingly spur-of-the-moment, they made the evening. The three very different singer-songwriters seemed to be having a great time together; the audience, many of whom were clearly long-time fans, had little choice but to join the fun.
Headliner Figueroa played from an enjoyable and often vulnerable-seeming set list, covering topics as personal as her decision not to commit suicide while simultaneously drawing musical influences from a long line of relatively soulful “college radio”-type female singer-songwriters. While her pieces of the show were beautiful, this writer often felt they lacked the emotion they seemed to inspire in her colleagues, who remarked numerous times at the feelings in Figueroa’s lyrics.
Carey, by contrast, used her powerful voice and stage presence to propel the audience into her musical world. Similar to Figueroa, Carey, too, drew upon countless vaguely recognizable, yet somehow un-nameable, musical influences. Perhaps, though, that is the power of a strong musician: to take the work of those who have come before, and to build it into one’s own style and expression, leaving the audience feeling comforted for the musical familiarity, yet impressed with the originality of the performer.
Heaton was, in an indescribable way, uniquely captivating. Accompanying herself on piano, Heaton at times seemed to be channeling early Tori Amos, sharing both her classically-trained piano skills and her passion. Heaton’s songs, like those of the other two, were replete with anecdotes from the lives of others mixed with her own experiences, and wove a complex narrative for her portions of the night. She had a beautiful, and like Carey, oddly familiar voice, and used that, combined with precocious delivery and lyrics, to full effect.
For more info see: hollyfigueroa.com
