27 July 2006

Katelyn Maier @ Pianos - 26 July 2006

The voice. What an underused instrument it is in so many of the bands I go see live. It doesn't really bother me ever when a singer isn't "singing" but boy I sure take notice when someone has a really great singing voice. Took notice last night I did, yes. Katelyn Maier has an amazing voice. That's all there is to it and she's worth seeing live just to hear her sing. It's a bonus, really, that she plays guitar and writes smart songs. Another bonus - (for those of you who live in NYC and love singer/songwriter types) she recently moved to New York so you're going to be able go see/hear her music live rather soon...dates below.

Katelyn played the upstairs bar at Pianos last night and I was impressed. Or, not super impressed by the venue (I'd never even been upstairs there for some reason but the fact that I could hear the band from downstairs was a bit annoying) but very impressed with Katelyn. Yes, I mentioned her voice but equally impressive was that she has a good grasp of how to balance her singing between soft/gentle and really belting it out. There's almost no point in having such a lovely singing voice if you don't understand how to deliver lyrics effectively. You'll notice lots of girls with this exact problem if you ever watch American Idol but Katelyn doesn't sing like those wannabe divas. In fact, I think her music reminded me of some kind of cross between Natalie Merchant (in terms of vocal tone at times) and Kristin Hersh (during quieter moments and even songwriting-wise) and I'm pretty sure that Katelyn would've found popularity rather quickly ten years ago during the mid '90s female singer/songwriter boom. It's a tough market now and there are more than a few other singer/songwriters but Katelyn is one to pay attention to.

Listen:
“Sandbox”
“Cardboard Cutout”

Visit Katelyn Maier on MySpace.

See her live:
5 August 2006 - 10:00P @ Mo Pitkins
10 August 2006 - 7:00P @ Kenny's Castaways
22 August 2006 - 9:00P @ Sidewalk Cafe

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, excellent song that first one. Sandbox. Is there someone else singing on that with her? Good find.

Anonymous said...

nice voice is right
cute too

Anonymous said...

I love Throwing Muses but this doesn't sound like them at all. Though I like this girl's songs though. I think she sounds more like ... You got me, I don't know. Reminds me of something I can't put my finger on, but then I don't listen to much folk stuff.

Matt said...

actually, no, I didn't mean Throwing Muses...I was referring to Kristin Hersh's solo stuff. glad you guys like it though!

Anonymous said...

katelyn's voice was incredible on wednesday. it's been a while since i've been so impressed by a voice. unfortunately, it's something i tend to look past in most the music i listen to/see.

look forward to the upcoming shows.

Anonymous said...

I've seen Katelyn play at Sidewalk several times now, and each time I am more blown away. The Pianos venue has a lot to be desired (especially with hearing the band downstairs), but as usual, Katelyn sounded amazing. I can't wait for the next show!

Anonymous said...

can someone, pleeease, send me Sandbox "Three Balloons And A Trapdoor"

This song I'm looking for since 2002.
no one has it, it's not on line for download, and I can't buy stuff on line (no credit card)

If someone has Sandbox "Three Balloons And A Trapdoor", send me song on noni_yu@yahoo.com

thanks!
noniyu