Man, I Feel Like Emma Lee

I first caught Emma Lee at Andy Kim's annual Christmas show last year. Her duet last month with Peter Katz confirmed for me that she had a strong, husky voice. I finally got a chance to hear her sing her own material at an early show Wednesday night at the Dakota Tavern.

Playing with a full band, her live performance toned down the country-pop flavour of her CDs and amped up the rock. I thought her "new country"-esque tunes were middle of the road. But when there was a bit of soul to her ballad (Phoenix) or rough blues/rock accents on Not Coming By or Shadow of a Ghost, the songs had more spirit and verve. Emma also tried out 2 new numbers: a 21st century "Life Is a Highway" driving song called Better With The Top Down and a tribute to Tom Petty that incorporated a number of his song titles or lyrics called What Would Tom Petty Do. That second song was catchy, though most of the references were probably lost to the 20-somethings; but that song title/refrain reminded me too much of South Park's What Would Brian Boitano Do. She has to find another line for that tune.