Smooth Operator

On Friday, I attended the first of 2 sold-out shows at The Danforth Music Hall for Charlotte Day Wilson. First up was opener James Tillman. He played a set of R'n'B songs full of falsetto, minor chord progressions, and ululations. Tillman had some pitch problems and maybe too much lyrical changes in his songs.

It's a bit of a mystery how some artists blow up. Last year at CMW, on the strength of a 5-song EP, she sold out the 600-capacity The Mod Club. A respectable venue for an artist, many local bands never gain this big an audience. This year, with another EP and no full album yet, Wilson is playing 2 nights at the 1500-capacity Music Hall. So it wasn't just hype that brought out the curious last winter.

With a larger discog, Wilson was able to carry a longer show although she did throw in a few as-yet-unreleased tracks and an Erykah Badu cover (Out my mind, just in time). That cover is a good contrast to Wilson's songs which tend to skew more toward simple lyrics. A typical song barely span 2 verses, including chorus. But what they had in common were a groove and a build up based on repetition of musical elements. Along with a seductive voice, Wilson also showed us her skills on the guitar, sax, and piano. She possessed some magical quality that made you just feel cooler and more with it listening to her.