The Scot’s Too Hot

KT Tunstall (w/Paddy Casey) @ Historic State Theater
14 May 2008 @ 7:30 PM

CLIP – “Suddenly I See”

It started out a mess. I was running late; I forgot my keys, missed a bus, missed a second bus, didn’t eat dinner, and got there are whopping ten minutes before curtain. As soon as I stepped inside the theater, I was immmediately impressed by the majesty of the State Theater. Everywhere you look there is something that’s been ornately painted or gilded. It could have been gaudy, but I think it worked quite well (FIG. 1).

(FIG. 1)

Everything in the theater is epic. Even the ushers are decked up and fancied up in uniforms with gold lapels and things. It’s a beautiful thing.

As we waited for the show to start, I glanced around at the crowd. The house was full and I was rather surprised by the turnout; I had been expecting a fair amount of lesbians (WAY more than at the Kate Nash show at First Ave last week) because KT has quite the gay following. But to my surprise, there were actually more men there than there were lesbians. I assume that most of the men were there with significant others, but there were a few flying solo.

The lights went down at 7:40. Paddy Casey was the opening act. He’s a funny little fellow from Dublin who’s been charming his way to the top of the Irish charts since the beginning of the noughties. The first thing I noticed about him was that he was adorable. See Fig. 2.

(FIG. 2)

It would be hard to resist those curls. For cereal. He came out and played a handful of his songs, including one that amused me greatly called “Not Out To Get You,” which Paddy described as being for anyone who’s ever gone out with a mental case. He also played a cover of the Purple One’s “When Doves Cry,” which was unremarkable as far as Prince covers go (to be fair, it’s nothing against Paddy — once you’ve heard Shara Worden do WDC, it’s hard to go back).

I got to meet Paddy after the show. He remarked before his cover of “When Doves Cry” that he was actually taller than Prince. He looked pretty average sized to me, but from where I was sitting things were a trifle skewed. When he and his group (including Fiona Malady, the devilishly cute young Irish lass who plays piano for Paddy) came out, I was surprised at how wrong I was (but this could be attributed more the fact that I am always surprised when I am not significantly shorter than everyone else in the world). He had made a remark during his set comparing himself to a one Jason Mraz, a gent of whom I am a BIG fan. I commented to Paddy after the show that I’ve seen Jason several times and there is something quite different about the two men. Sure, they’re doing the same thing: writing songs, playing them on their guitars for scores of girls to hear and fall in love with them. But there is something quite different between the two, something I couldn’t exactly articulate at the time. Upon further reflection (and further research, as I wanted to find a review or two that compared him to Jason). But I just don’t see. Jason is from California. He lives on an avocado farm. His sound has a much more soft and sincere sound, where as Paddy has a very raw feeling to his music — as if he is actually moved by the things he is singing.

The thing about Paddy was not any thing about Paddy; it was the choice of Paddy to open for KT. From what I have heard of Paddy’s music (from tonight’s show and from his MySpace), he’d be a much better opening act for the likes of Mat Kearney or Oasis. According to the omniscient Wikipedia, he’s toured with the likes of R.E.M. and Ani DiFranco, which both seem much more fitted to his style of music, both melodically and lyrically. KT just seemed a little too mainstream for him.

I wasn’t expecting much of Paddy, as I’d had it on good authority that he wasn’t much to write home about (an authority which I am now dubious of). He proved me wrong, and I’m glad he did. He’s a doll and now that I’ve listened to some of his music online, I think I’d like it very much to see him again. I’m a little bit ashamed to admit it, but I am just another one of those poor American saps who are suckers for the gorgeous accents. If Paddy had asked me to jump in their tour “bus” (not that they’d have had room, mind you – I imagine they were all packed in there a little tight), I’d have probably not even thought twice. With a face like his and music like he plays, I can’t say that I’d be able to turn down an offer like that. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a girl around these parts who would say no to that sort of offer. Maybe Paddy should spend more time “discovering his roots” in the Midwest more often.

But finally, at 8:40, after an intermission and the standard mile-long restroom queues, the house lights dimmed again and a svelte brunette and a troupe of boys walked out on the stage. The crowd erupted in a furor that I’ve never heard at a gig before.

(FIG. 3)

There she was. KT in all her glory, standing before me on the stage with her posse of musicians (FIG 3). She was wearing this odd fitting t-shirt that was impossibly dishy. Her boots were hard to see, but once I did see them, I fell in love with them immediately. Her band was pretty flippin’ sweet, too. The lad on the far left was called Luke and the girls were crazy for him (he got a couple shout-outs — in unison — from some young-sounding girls). He had a pretty red drum set and a set of what I assume were bongo drums (though it was impossible to see from where I was). The bloke next to him was the one to blow my mind all evening. He’s called Arulf Linder and he’s from Vienna. He rocked that enormous bass (or contrabass, as one of my associates informs me) like nobody’s business. Not to mention the bloke’s got to be hitting the 7′ mark with no difficulty, as he made the cello he played later look like a mere toy. The chap on KT’s right is Sam Lewis, her fantastic guitar player. And the fellow on the far right is Kenny Dickinson, the trumpter/keyboardist/washboard-tiest/tambourine man extrodinare. He was pretty cool. But I’ll love a musician regardless of his talent if he can rock a hat right. And, oh, can Kenny rock a hat (FIG. 4)!

(FIG. 4)

As she danced around on the stage with her guitars, I was ready to throw caution to the wind and myself at the stage. Her voice is deeper in person than it is on record, which makes it THAT much more sexy. I had goosebumps of sexyness (also known as sexybumps). She’s that good.

(FIG. 5)

The peak of the show was when she performed “Under The Weather.” The song normally clocks in at just above three and a half, but their live version tonight was earth shattering. It was drawn out into a long, mystical performance that pretty much blew me to pieces. Arulf busted out with not only the humungous bass, but also his (toy) cello. Sam played this interesting instrument that looked like the neck of a guitar from what I could see. I have no idea what it was exactly, but it was stellar. If there was one thing I could take away from that performance to watch over and over again, it would without a doubt be “Under The Weather.”

Her encore included two more of her songs and a Chaka Khan cover (one that is familiar to any of her followers and something that is not really experienced until it’s experienced live). Though the audience wasn’t was I was expecting, I have to give them a lot of credit because they were a raucous bunch. The cheering for the encore was the biggest I’ve ever heard and the audience involvement during “Black Horse And The Cherry Tree” was phenomenonal.

(FIG. 6)

After the show, KT finally came out to get into her bus. A crowd of fans had gathered and thinned out considerably by the time she came out about an hour after the show ended. She was an absolute delight to meet. I was at first assaulted by the surprise that she is significantly shorter than I had previously assumed (perhaps that’s her confidence making her seem that much larger than life). She’s also significantly more beautiful in person, and her voice is lower. After she meet-and-greeted (FIG. 4) a bit, I realized that she’s not KT Tunstall, guitarist/musician/singer/hottie extrodinaire; no, she’s the poster child for the Sultry Vixens International (FIG. 5).

(FIG. 7)