08 Mar 11

"...get your head out of your ass / put on your game face..."
Movin' On by Carrie Westbay

Hey, blogspot readers, SouthSide made a return appearance to Elbo Room to give free hugs (to Eric Blair and the band) and Mardi Gras cheer to everyone. She was also there to check out Carrie Westbay (MI) and her acoustic performance at the upstairs acoustic lounge before dashing off to Double Door for The Branded and Trainwreck Symphony.

Here's another singer/songwriter in which SouthSide highly recommends seeing if you want to hear dynamic vocal powress with a raspy soulful tone (liken to Janis Joplin) mixed with fiery emotions from a broken relationship (liken to Alanis Morisette), blogspot readers, then attend Carrie Westbay's next scheduled appearance.

This artist throughout her performance dug deep tapping into the heart and soul of her lyrics to draw out fierce raw emotions that was wonderfully matched by the acoustic riffs. And SouthSide truly means Carrie dug (way) deep to literally have you feeling what she experienced at the moment when writing any particular song. After opening with her current single, Right In Front Of Me, this singer/songwriter immediately let everyone have it - forcefully and bluntly - during the song Movin' On (the best "that creep wasn't worth your time and day" song ever!) while encouraging the listener to move on towards better, brighter days. Another fine emotionally charged example would be Push You (featured tonight in its seventh incarnation in which Carrie stated the song's still in transition) and though not hearing the other six versions, this reviewer delightfully enjoyed this version. This artist absolutely had the ears feeling the fierce vigor within the riffs as well as vocals while dramatically venting the words. There was plenty of anger to be heard yet there was also a (surprising) moment of calm, blogspot readers, even though not lasting long.

Fans will notice that most of Carrie's songs (about 99.9%) were about the ups and (mostly) downs of relationships tackling the heartache and pain of a love gone awry and/or breakup. However this artist did show the tender side of herself via the songs like Long To Be Free - not fiercely performed as she did during Push You but there was still a lively upbeat tempo and energetic vigor heard off the riffs - and Sorry, not your average "I'm sorry" song but more of a sarcastic one to those who seriously pissed you off. Carrie wonderfully delighted this reviewer with a passionate version of her favorite Janis Joplin song, Me & Bobby McGee in which brought out her raw natural vocal talent ...totally immersing herself emotionally into the essence of Janis. Then there was the heartfelt use of pulling a rabbit out of her guitar during her cover of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit. Both covers blew the roof off Elbo Room, blogspot readers! SouthSide also liked hearing the interesting stories behind her songs that gave the reviewer a clearer incite to what Carrie was feeling or what occurred in her life (i.e. like the time writing a song when she was twenty years old that featured gentle finger picking and flowery prose in the lyrics) while in the process of creating them.

For more information about Carrie Westbay, visit http://www.reverbnation.com/carriewestbay.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide