Special ArjanWrites.com correspondent Brian Burgess was one of the lucky few to attend a special Duffy showcase at the Maritime Hotel in New York City last night. Following on the heels of her successful gigs at SXSW in Austin last week, Duffy took her refreshing brand of soul pop to an adoring crowd in the Big Apple. Read on for Brian's full report.
Duffy, the Welsh singer-songwriter with the voice of a '60s soul diva, performed for an intimate crowd of 200 at the Maritime Hotel’s Hiro Ballroom in New York City on Monday evening. Before I get into a few details about the show, let me just note that there was some serious diva worship going on in the venue. Lots of industry people, but handfuls of adoring gays who kept getting in trouble for taking photos and videos. It was great!
The smitten-with-New York Duffy showcased
most of the material on her debut CD, "Rockferry," currently #1 for the
second week on the U.K. albums chart. She opened her set with the album's title track that was followed by her bluesy next single, "Warwick Avenue."
Standouts in the set were the defiant "Stepping Stone" (she confided with the audience, "I fell in love once, but never told him so I wrote this song") and "Syrup & Honey," an acoustic song that only featured the singer's vocals together with guitar work from John Greene that was totally brilliant. It beautifully exposed the intricate nuance of her soulful voice as well as her sweet, natural charm. She finished the song with a big, dimpled smile singing, "baby, baby, baby, spend your time on me." Then, a wink.
I thought it was interesting to see how diverse her band was too. They looked like some were rock band members, others jazz, others R&B. Interesting reflection on her style, I think.
The show closed with her current #1 U.K.
smash single four weeks running, "Mercy." After begging them
for mercy, she left the impressed audience beggin’ for more, and she
didn’t disappoint. She returned for one encore, "Distant Dreamer."
Duffy is one to watch. Her talent only outshines her beauty.
Look for Duffy’s debut album to release
in the U.S. on May 13 on New Mercury Records. In the meantime, download her smash single, "Mercy," on iTunes, which you can also stream below.
Full set list:
1. Rockferry
2. Warwick Avenue
3. I Know It's Wrong
4. Serious
5. Breaking My Own Heart [Free MP3]
6. Syrup & Honey
7. Stepping Stone
8. Delayed Devotion
9. Tomorrow
10. Mercy
11. Distant Dreamer
(A big thanks to Brian Burgess for the write up and sassy Ms. Sagert for making things happen.)
