Dallas has a fairly decent "coffee-shop" music scene - with a couple of locations bringing in national and regional touring artists. I've always found that singer-songwriter shows at coffee shops are cozy, low-key and intimate. You get to sit about 6 feet from the artist as they sing their hearts out. That intimacy is one of those elements that tends to get lost as you move into larger venues.

For me, Opening Bell Coffee, in downtown Dallas is one of the best coffee shop venues I've ever been to. Its located in the basement area of a building that was renovated to become a series of condos, and is located about a block from the rest of the "southside" downtown music venues, the Palladium, the Loft, Gilley's and Poor Davids Pub.

In early 2007 I had a chance to catch Rana Mansour there - an intensely talented, Persian-America singer songwriter. With heavy jazz, pop and R&B leanings, Rana's voice and piano playing produce classic soulful tunes. Her voice is just addictive, powerful and near perfect. My humble opinion. Comparisons have been drawn to Fiona Apple and Alicia Keys. Thats probably right.

At this particular show, Rana was using the house piano, which had a very slight bar room/saloon type sound to it. It made for an interesting counter point to her jazzy songs. To record the show, we dangled a single mic over the piano along with a mic for her vocals. I've been really pleased for the results, with several of the tracks from the show getting heavy rotation around the house and on the iPOD (and Zune and Zen).

Here's her bio for those interested in her musical background.

Check out the studio version of 'Lose Control' and the live versions of 'Mistake' and 'Unfavorable Sign' below for a sample of her talents.

On a side note - theres no references to Rana Mansour on the Hype Machine, so let me say that Lullabyes is also pleased to introduce Rana to the blogosphere!

Studio MP3:
Lose Control

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Somebody With You
Mistake
Lover
Autumn Leaves (Johnny Mercer)
Sweet Sadness
Lose Control
Show The Way (David Wilcox)
Unfavorable Sign
Bavar Kon (Googoosh)
Leaving Home
Don't Worry Baby
Lovesong (The Cure)

Labels: dallas, indie, live mp3s, opening bell coffee, soundboard mp3s, studio mp3s

This is an update to an earlier post from last year, with the complete set from St Vincents show in Denton, Texas.

Ventured up to Denton Texas to catch Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, on the opening night of her first headlining tour in support of her new record, "Marry Me".

She was playing with a full band last night, as opposed to her atypical solo show and it made for a very different experience. I'd seen her 3 times by herself and had always been awed at the sheer emotional power of her performance. The full band brought a different (but just as stunning) vibe to the songs - a more subtle sweeping grace to the songs that now featured layered instrumentation as opposed to the rythmic pounding of Annie's stomp box.

Picture found at Three Pink Monkeys Flickr account. Check them out for more St Vincent pics.

Check out Gorilla vs Bear for photos and a write up on the gig.

Live MP3s:
Intro
Jesus Saves. I Spend
Human Racing
Now. Now
Intro to...
Marry Me
Landmines
Your Lips Are Red
All My Stars Aligned
Bang Bang
Paris is Burning
The Apocalypse Song
Encore Break
What, Me Worry
Outro

Labels: concerts, denton, haileys, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, tour dates