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Live Review from Girls with Guitars 2:
Setlist:
1. Faded
2. Clown Face
3. One Way Ticket
4. Falling
5. Umbrella (Rihanna cover)
6. We’re Not Finished
The girl with the biggest workload that night (having had some major multi-tasking to do, with the absence of Chris B that night) was also the opening act to the show. Now, it must be confessed that the U-Team was a bit worried about attendance earlier that night, what with the rain and Music Matters in LKF; but these worries were significantly alleviated thanks to the massive posse that Heather summoned over.
With her audience ready and waiting, she gave us a little insight to her set – it was arranged to go from the most depressing, to the happiest song. This spectrum of emotions was quite accurate in describing the progression of the songs – they were mostly very simply composed, drilling down to the bedrock of song-writing with just chords and lyrics. Now, despite the lack of accompaniment, she did not miss them. Her lyrics were quite engaging, taking on a pleasant conversational tone. Her main strength is her voice, which while being very sweet, never crossed the line to being too saccharine – it’s an earnest croon that she sings with, and it’s really nice to listen to. Her comfort on stage is also appreciable – you can see that she likes being there – and combine that with her ability to keep the crowd’s attention (bit of a given considering its composition, but still) and you have a very fun performance.
Another thing about her set was that despite her description, the moods of the songs were subtle. Clown Face sounded sweet on the surface, but had a detectable undertone of bitterness resolved, and a toe-tapping rhythm. One Way Ticket was a four year-old song, with a rousing chord pattern, in which she made some clever vocal and guitar modulation choices, allowing her voice to really flower. Her cover of Umbrella was very interesting to hear in her more laidback style – took a little getting used to, but it was really fun. Plus, it didn’t hurt to have the audience being able to sing along. We’re Not Finished was a new song, with lyrics being spontaneously generated at points. Overall, she sounded full and rounded throughout, and the stage never seemed vacant, and that’s a real credit to her.
– Shashwati
Live Review from Underground 30:
Mmmm. What a scoop for Underground! With a presence that displayed maturity beyond her 18 years, Heather was a pleasant surprise for everyone. A sweet strong vocals backed by confident strumming, she played a perfect length set to keep my attention and keep my curiosity peaked. Hopefully Heather will encourage other budding singer-songwriter-guitarists to take the live performance plunge.
Rosie Chan
A true emotional exhibitionist, Heather lays her feelings bare for anyone who cares to listen. she is a solo act, both strumming and singing, lacking the musical depth of a full band but making it meaningful with her personal warmth.
Wally Amos
