WORRISOME HEART - MELODY GARDOT
On Saturday, I went to see Melody Gardot perform at the Concert - Gebouw in Amsterdam with friends. I hadn’t heard about her before actually going at the suggestion of my friend Lynne. I have to say, for a concert that I had no expectations for (except that I was going to see a Jazz singer), I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And after reading about Melody’s story and seeing how she has been able to rise from such trauma in her life, made me like her even more.
The concert started on time (it is Holland after all) and we had pretty good seats in Podium Nord, meaning we were behind the actual stage which was pretty cool. The lights were dimmed and Melody was accompanied by a man and surprisingly, a cane and dark sunglasses. Later on, I came to find out that she was involved in a car accident when she was 19 (she’s 25 now) while riding her bicycle and was bed ridden for about a year. She still apparently experiences pain, memory loss, and has issues with perceiving time. Music therapy is what seems to have helped her tremendously.
Her voice is velvety smooth and she sings a mix of jazz and blues; she’s actually also quite funny. She did some great covers including Fever and Over the Rainbow (one of my favorite songs ever). She also played the piano and the guitar. Her band was hands down amazing. I’ve never seen a man play a baby sax and a sax at the same time. Her cello player from Berlin played it like a guitar for one number.
If you’re in Europe, check her out, she’s on tour through July. The song I got above from YouTube was actually featured on Grey’s Anatomy.
And if I do say so myself, she made a cane and sunglasses - dare I say it, look sexy.
