It is often quite difficult to become a pop star while keeping some shred of artistic credibility. With such acts as Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake calling themselves artists, not entertainers, it is no wonder that Vanessa Carlton is painted with that same brush of disbelief and skepticism. At Mississippi Nights on Monday, she had the chance to prove her chops.
Ben Lee,however, opened the show. Lee mostly stuck to the acoustic guitar along with multi-instrumentalist Mick Allen. This did not diminish the power and breadth of the songs one bit.
At first the audience was rather apathetic to the Australian singer-songwriter, but that soon changed. He often moved out from behind the mic to the front of the crowd, enticing the audience to pay attention. Most opening acts simply play their songs with a minimum of enthusiasm or power, but Lee was truly out to win over each and every member of the audience. Actually, there were a small contingent of Lee fans that showed themselves when he played “Cigarettes Will Kill You,” off his latest album, Breathing Tornadoes. By the end of the set, though, he had a bevy of fans.
Most of his songs were off his forthcoming album, Hey You, Yes You. Lee labeled the album as a “dirty soulful record,” that makes use of deconstruction and imperfection. The album is produced by Dan the Automator, of Gorillaz fame, and should be available in the United States early next year. Lee said the delay in releasing the record was due to his previous label, Grand Royal, going bankrupt, and looking for a new label to release the record.
Dressed in a Stevie Nicks-esque frock with her hair tied back, Carlton quietly walked to the piano at the center of the stage. She opened with “Say You Would,” a quiet piano ballad that got the crowd’s attention with its intricate accompaniment. Soon, the hair was let down and the band was allowed on stage for “Unsung.” More upbeat than the first songs she did alone, the audience slowly started to show life with bobbing heads and smiles. Even though the crowd seemed more subdued, Carlton writhed and swayed about her piano stool, giving come-hither stares to the audience from time to time.
Carlton then slowed down for the slow “Rinse” and “Prince.” In between songs, she told stories of her desire to gamble on the river, as well as her frightening experience playing in front of Neil Young at the Bridge Scholl Benefit earlier this year. It kept the audience interested as a temporary respite from the dragging set.
There were some points of interest, nevertheless. There was a great audience response for her hit songs, “A Thousand Miles” and “Ordinary Day.” The highlight of her set was a sizzling cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black.” Carlton abandoned the piano to prance around the stage and play to the crowd as her band rocked out. It would have been nicer if she had done this more during her set.
Still, the night belonged to Ben Lee. Where Carlton’s songs drowned in their own intricacies and dark nature, Lee’s performance was filled with passion and power that evoked a greater audience reaction. Be that as it may, Carlton did show she was more than a flash-in-the-pan pop-tart.
