Somehow, whenever Edie Carey and Holly Figueroa get together for a show at Seattle’s Tractor Tavern, the weather seems incapable of cooperating. Such was the case for Monday’s show, during which Seattle got a wicked (to borrow from Carey’s Bostonian vocabulary) snow and ice storm, leaving the roads unto impassable.
Undaunted, the two put on an excellent show. The banter between songs was the usual from these two, a mix of self-deprecating humor and anecdote, providing backgrounds on songs, while simultaneously entertaining the cozy crowd. Accompanying themselves on guitar, both Carey and Figueroa, while stylistically miles apart, showcased their considerable talents on that instrument.
Carey’s brand of folk, always a pleasure to hear, was perfect in the Tractor’s brick space, her voice soaring expertly through old material and songs from her new album, Another Kind of Fire. For fans of contemporary folk, Carey is a perfect fit as her songs are both lyrically interesting and musically compelling, yet she retains the stylistic hallmarks of classic folk that in turn makes her music feel familiar and comforting, the perfect blanket on a freezing night.
Figueroa, by contrast, still seems to be exploring, stylistically; though easily classified as “folk,” her music is in truth more adventurous, digging occasionally into the blues, pop, and country. This exploration suggests great things to come, as she settles into a more defined (if only to her) style. Unfortunately, that adventurousness is currently also her weakness, as she doesn’t yet seem comfortable nor fully-fledged in any genre. Let’s hope these two fine singer-songwriters play together again in Seattle soon, but under sunnier weather patterns.
