Dynamic Duo

On Friday, I was at The Painted Lady for an early show. I haven't been to this cozy bar and music venue in 5 years. Tonight was the final show (for a while) of duo Chris & Nicole. The latter was heading off to law school and possibly a more lucrative career. Surprisingly, I saw one of my classmates from my summer courses, a cheery Barre instructor who was planning to move to NYC. She was friends with the duo. In fact, the packed bar was filled with friends and family.

Taylor Guitard (Goodnight Jasmine) opened the show with a solo set. Perhaps she had movies on her mind because her set was dominated by songs inspired by film: an ode to friendship (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), and a celebration of weird people (Lydia from Beetlejuice). She even did a cover of Tonight You Belong To Me (Steve Martin from The Jerk).

It wasn't just a temporary goodbye show for Chris & Nicole, but also the release of their first EP which has taken awhile to get done. So they were backed tonight by a full band, the same one that played on their recording. They had an alt-country sound but I liked it best when they added more bluesy punch or pure country and not so much when they move into country-pop. As a culmination of several events, the evening ended on an emotional note when the bar joined them on the final number Keep Me In Your Heart Til I Get Home.