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Bird should be everywhere

Brighton Music Hall, Boston, September 27, 2018

Reviewed by Jeffrey B. Remz

Jade Bird is always armed with a big smile in a small body. But when the 20-year-old British singer starts belting out the songs with her powerful, authoritatively commanding voice, that just puts things in a different perspective.

Bird, who toured with Colter Wall in the spring, has been lumped in the Americana category a bit, but she's really more of a rock/pop combo with a lot of vocal edge.

That would not have been so evident with her opening song, "What Am I Here For," however. Bird came out solo acoustic, sounding good, although the mix was a bit off.

Her tight backing trio quickly came out for "Cathedral," where she let her vocal skills shine, something that would occur again and again on this evening. And she also kept up a rapid pace with songs like "Good Women," packing a vocal wallop. Such power from a singer who has been compared to Alanis Morisette.

Bird, who exuded a great deal of warmth in chatting with the enthusiastic crowd of maybe a few hundred, did not necessarily need to keep her foot on the pedal to make for a successful outing. She also was comfortable in dialing it back on the new song "Does Anybody Know" or playing "If I Die" solo on keyboards.

Bird threw in a few covers - Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill," where she did the song justice, although it's hard to compete with Bush, and The Bangles' fun "Walk Like An Egyptian."

Bird closed out the regular set with her biggest song with a very forceful delivery of "Lottery" (it's easy to see where the Morisette comparison comes from) and "Going Gone."

Backed by a tight trio, Bird kept her set compact as well, clocking in at 55 minutes.

And then it was time for a fun cover to close out the night. Saying she liked Johnny Cash, she went into ultra drive with the Cash-identified (he didn't write it) "I've Been Everywhere." With shows like this, Bird should be.



©Country Standard Time • Jeffrey B. Remz, editor & publisher • countrystandardtime@gmail.com
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