Sunday, November 26, 2006
Judith Owen and Harry Shearer's Holiday Sing-Along
To feed my addiction to all things Harry Shearer, Jane and I attended Judith and Harry's Holiday Sing-Along last night at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. We had dinner tickets and got there early, so we scored a small table in the very front of the hall, which we shared with a friendly couple named Annette and Peter.
The show is an outgrowth of a house party that Judith Owen (Harry's wife) and Harry have hosted for years. Friends gathered and sang together and for one another. Last year they put the show on stage at Disney Hall, and this year they're taking it on the road to San Francisco, Sellersville PA, and New York City.
The anchor of the show was pianist Bryan Pezzone. While Judith was in front playing MC, Pezzone kept the mood and the momentum going, providing interlude music, accompaniment to some of the performances, and support for the sing-along. Also on the bill: The Bobs (I've listened to them for more than 20 years, having once worked with the brother of bass Richard Greene) who were terrific; their rendition of White Room brought the house down. English singer Julia Fordham sang a few of carols and an original song in a haunting voice that seemed impossibly low and dark to come from such a tiny blonde woman.
But for me, Jill Sobule was the surprise of the night. I hadn't heard of her before, and that's my loss. I've learned that she's a New York-based folk-rock singer and guitarist who's also acted in some movies and done music for television and theatre. She sang two songs -- "Jesus was a Dreidle Spinner" and "Merry Christmas from the Family" -- that were funny, smart, and altogether terrific. (As of this writing, both are available for free download from her website.) And I found her guitar playing astonishing -- in part because she plays an undersize acoustic guitar, almost like a ukelele with six strings. With amplification, her sound is full, dynamic, and precise.
The performers were all dressed in party clothes and were busy drinking wine and listening when they weren't performing. It was sweet and homey. The show benefitted Tiptina's Foundation which buys musical instruments for public school kids in New Orleans.
The evening finished with singing the Twelve Days of Christmas, with the room divided up and different sections singing and acting out lines from the song. Top honors went to a raft of young women in the balcony who flapped their arms like partridge wings, did Yoga hands to mime a pear tree, and sang their line with gusto if not melody or rhythm.
I hope the Pennsylvania and New York shows are as much fun as the San Francisco show was.
The show is an outgrowth of a house party that Judith Owen (Harry's wife) and Harry have hosted for years. Friends gathered and sang together and for one another. Last year they put the show on stage at Disney Hall, and this year they're taking it on the road to San Francisco, Sellersville PA, and New York City.
The anchor of the show was pianist Bryan Pezzone. While Judith was in front playing MC, Pezzone kept the mood and the momentum going, providing interlude music, accompaniment to some of the performances, and support for the sing-along. Also on the bill: The Bobs (I've listened to them for more than 20 years, having once worked with the brother of bass Richard Greene) who were terrific; their rendition of White Room brought the house down. English singer Julia Fordham sang a few of carols and an original song in a haunting voice that seemed impossibly low and dark to come from such a tiny blonde woman.
But for me, Jill Sobule was the surprise of the night. I hadn't heard of her before, and that's my loss. I've learned that she's a New York-based folk-rock singer and guitarist who's also acted in some movies and done music for television and theatre. She sang two songs -- "Jesus was a Dreidle Spinner" and "Merry Christmas from the Family" -- that were funny, smart, and altogether terrific. (As of this writing, both are available for free download from her website.) And I found her guitar playing astonishing -- in part because she plays an undersize acoustic guitar, almost like a ukelele with six strings. With amplification, her sound is full, dynamic, and precise.
The performers were all dressed in party clothes and were busy drinking wine and listening when they weren't performing. It was sweet and homey. The show benefitted Tiptina's Foundation which buys musical instruments for public school kids in New Orleans.
The evening finished with singing the Twelve Days of Christmas, with the room divided up and different sections singing and acting out lines from the song. Top honors went to a raft of young women in the balcony who flapped their arms like partridge wings, did Yoga hands to mime a pear tree, and sang their line with gusto if not melody or rhythm.
I hope the Pennsylvania and New York shows are as much fun as the San Francisco show was.
