A ukulele, a drum kit and a loop pedal aren’t normally things that stir a crowd into rapture, but then again, Merrill Garbus isn’t your run-of-the-mill musician. Refreshingly inventive and dynamic, her genre-bending song structures are infused with a rhythm and playfulness that gets feet tapping and hands a-clapping, and her exuberant personality is as infectious as the Afrobeat-infused basslines that underpin her songs. But if there’s one thing marks her as a talent of the highest order, it’s that astonishing voice. With a range and versatility that puts all contenders to shame, she switches from old school soul showboating to quirky beatboxing with breathtaking ease, resulting in more jaw-to-floor moments that any recent performance I can rcall. An absolute marvel, she’s set the bar ridiculously high for the rest of the acts I'll see this year- if I witness anything else as good in 2010, I’ll count myself a very lucky man.
(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)
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