LIVE REVIEW: JESSICA SEVIER / RYAN LANGDON - THE GREEN NOTE BASEMENT
It has to be said there's a slight bit of dread that runs through you when you see Talentbanq Supremo Ray Jones promoting the show in the main room at The Green Note only to tell him that you'll be eschewing his offerings tonight, to see two of Canada's finest Jessica Sevier and Ryan Langdon playing an extremely select show downstairs. Having been in possession of Jessica Sevier's ( pronounced Sev rather than Seevier ) debut EP "Wild Wild Woman" for some weeks now, the Basement was always going to be the place to be even if it did feel a little like committing treason. Both are independent artists and it was somewhat depressing to hear that the struggle to be heard on the radio is a universal issue.
The sets were to be split evenly between Jessica and Ryan however the appearance of a very young Ryan fan, meant that Ryan opted to go first, so his new found friend could see him before bed time! Normally to be found fronting a rowdier band, this solo stripped back show would be something a little different. Opening with "Bad Choices", you could feel the anthemic quality coming through. Ryan's latest single "Little Red Rider" about his ideal car, was another clearly ready made anthem.
Having garnished a bit of heat playing country versions of more mainstream songs - he'd give the Backstreet Boys - "I Want It That Way" an outing and invite a singalong. It's safe to say it had never crossed our radar, however enough of the Green Note were aware to make a half decent bit of audience participation!.
With the shadow from his Packers snapback casting a shadow over his eyes, it was back to his more band orientated material for "Crushing Cans", a love song to beer. "Can you hear the passion?" he'd ask.
Things went a little different with the soon to be released "Burned Up Back Roads", it was something a little different, slower more intense, it seemed more the direction Ryan should eventually be heading in, as it suited his voice really well. Ryan would surprising reveal himself as being a big dancer, "My Best Dance Moves" was a song trying to invoke a bit of Trace Adkins, with Ryan visibly tapping his left foot, possibly in frustration at not being able to the to run round the room!
If the earlier cover was pushing limits, asking people to sing along to Blackstone & Dr Dre's "No Diggity" was possibly a step too far! Another change in pace would come with "Country Like You", his biggest Canadian hit to date, once again his voice sounding right at home in the slower paced material. His best song naturally would be the one paying homage to his wife, "Best Night", the night that they met.
"I thank my lucky stars I ever found you!"
Closing with the "Lit In The Sticks" detailing his teenage adventures with alcohol and smoking, it seemed an odd time to celebrate, but we guess times don't change too much and the same adventures still occur!!!
As #TEAMw21 sat waiting for Jessica to start her set there was the slight fear that she might not be able to create the atmosphere of the EP, with just an acoustic guitar. We needn't have worried, if anything it was the opposite, had the EP managed to catch all of the nuances that Jessica puts into a live performance? Brilliant as the EP is, could it ever hope to capture all of the intensity, the wry little sidebars, the Easter eggs, the humour, the sheer joie de vivre of just being in the room with her.
A slight figure in blue jeans, in a blouse with bell sleeves, her long blonde tresses almost resting on her guitar strings let alone on her guitar. She would put in one of the most exhilarating 45 minutes or so of the year so far. Fabulously funny and indiscreet, brazenly honest, and most of all a great performer, why there was not a queue down the street to see her is beyond us.
Opening as per the EP with "Motel", the level of intensity created was immense. Slightly shifting from side to side as sung, there was real vitriol as she sneered out the lines
"It always started off with fun
Till you'd run your mouth and fight someone"
Alternating between barely a whisper and wall shaking volume, she would close on the sweetest of notes. There was so much to absorb and we were only one song in!
"Loser" came with an amazing intro of being dumped by phone, which she raised the stakes on by saying he was the drummer in her band and then raised them further by saying he still is!
Coming with a classic chorus, finishing on a deliberately rising note, with the final chorus starting almost spoken, there was lots of stagecraft on display.
The intro to "Panic Years" flitted from having a birthday, to insurance issues back at home and the uncertainties of ageing.
A noticeable smile crossed her face as she sang the line about her parents
"I won't call them at the slightest inconvenience, but until then...
If it's not Jessica's lyrics informing us about her then her spoken intros also are crammed with details, "Wild Wild Woman" was prefaced by a tale of her breaking both her back and arm in a riding accident. The song itself starts with clipped guitar strokes and short quick vocal lines that build up an enclosed atmosphere.
The chorus developed to be the complete opposite, with the Green Note basement barely able to contain her soaring vocals, and the accusatory "How dare you"s.
The love of Bruce Springsteen, in the song that bares his name, came with another impassioned introduction. The tiny details imparted left you in no doubt of quite how much The Boss meant to Jessica at the formative time he came into her life. It also shed light on to just how real some of the lines were. The "I'm On Fire" style cooing at the end, led into some verses of the actual song itself, returning to the main song, where the chorus is altered to say the line
"The tapes pretty wrecked"
just to emphasise its usage. It was simply perfect finishing with a big smile and a well earned glug from her enormous bottle of water.
Once more the back story for "You Got The Guy" was fascinating, informing the intensity with which it was performed. Jessica would whisper a pixieish "I hope she hears it" just as the final notes were disappearing. There was a marvellous moment where Jessica would plant a seed in the audiences mind, that would not come to bare fruit until much later. Mixed in with the intensity was such a wry sense of humour that you could not help but warm to Jessica, "Without Me" came with laugh out loud lines on a song about her exes finding "the one", only after breaking up with her - "I hope you're happy" she sang before a slight pause, then adding the killer, "not really".
The closing run of songs saw another cover version that had previously passed us by, in Def Leppard's "Hysteria". Jessica would explain that her song "EH" was actually initials and not a mild response of disinterest, it produced the punchline to the seed planted earlier. The evening would close with "Good To Drive", with Jessica generating great volume one last time.
A set of fractionally over 45 minutes offered so much, yet conversely felt as if it had positively flown by in half the time. A quick conversation with Jessica afterwards only reinforced our already held opinion that this was the emergence of major new talent.
Go buy or stream "Wild Wild Woman" immediately and be ready for Jessica Sevier's return is the best advice we can leave you with - #TEAMw21 will be waiting for sure.
