Fung Times

Wednesday night, I was at the Burdock for their annual Piano fest where they plop a baby grand on their tiny stage. As such, their music programming skewed toward acts with pianists for about 2 weeks. First up was Kelsey McNulty. I heard her in a duo with Dr. Ew in a noisy bar a few years ago. Tonight she interpreted a number of jazz/pop standards. Her own songs tended to be more bluesy.

Head-liner Kristin Fung played an incredibly high-energy set. As a piano player, she was excited to play a real one instead of a synth. But I think she's just naturally vivacious. Her joy at being on stage and playing music was infectious. You can't help but feel great with her beaming grins that never left her face. It also helped that she played up-tempo jazz pop like Man Is Optional and Why Don't You Dance. Her backing band kept that electric vibe going all night including flutist Ann Phung. This musician usually only guest spots for a song or two with other local bands, but tonight she also got to shine. With two Asian women front and centre tonight, a sad rarity in the music scene, it was fitting that Fung ended the night with Massive Stride, a "r-e-s-p-e-c-t"-style ode to smashing stereotypes.