pop – Pigments of Sound Sensation

May 3, 2020May 3, 2020

Madison VanDenburg: From Second-Runner-Up To Running Full Speed Ahead (Part 2 of 2)

This is part two of my interview with superstar Madison VanDenburg, initially written for and posted on Nippertown. (On blog here.)

Madison Vandenburg at Upstate Concert Hall in April 2018 with her guitarist Tom.

EE: How did you choose your audition song(s)?
MV: I was in a voice lesson and I had been playing around with “Speechless” [by Dan & Shay] for a while because I had fallen in love with the song, and me and my boyfriend had seen this specific performance of them doing it at a radio station. It was the best I had ever heard anyone ever sing in my entire life. And I said, “I wanna do this song.” It was strange for me because I had never really strayed from the twenty or thirty songs I go through in my setlist. It’s usually what I always use for anything, including auditions. It was totally weird for me to go for this country pop song. My vocal coach was like, “Go for it! I think it sounds good.” I was just like, “Might as well try it!” and it worked out. I think I was going to do “Fallin’” by Alicia Keys. We were supposed to prepare two songs in case the judges wanted to hear more. But they just passed me on the first one, which I was really grateful for.

May 2, 2020May 2, 2020

Madison VanDenburg: From Second-Runner-Up To Running Full Speed Ahead (Part 1 of 2)

Initially written for and posted on Nippertown

Photo: Elissa Ebersold. Madison VanDenburg, Aurora Games, Albany, NY, 08.20.19

When it comes to reality TV shows, there’s no such thing as the binary. It’s never just as simple as “I watch it” or “I don’t watch it.” There are so many gradations that float in between “do” and “don’t.” There’s the guilty pleasure watchers. There’s the casual watchers, or the home-sick-in-bed watchers. You could be one of the watching religiously watchers and/or one of the live-tweeting commentating watchers. Or you could be like many and watch when a citizen of your locale becomes a focal point of the show. While I probably more closely fall into the “casual watcher” category, having turned these reality competition shows on and off for the past fifteen years or so, I know the latter category probably encompasses many citizens of New York’s Capital Region these past couple of years. Who could blame them with incredible talents such as Moriah Formica (The Voice, American Idol), Sawyer Fredericks (The Voice), and now more recently, the incredible Madison VanDenburg coming out of the woodwork and taking second runner up in season two of American Idol at only 17. No, sorry, scratch that. Not coming out of the woodwork. Coming in like a Category 5 hurricane.

So, if you haven’t seen how absolutely mind-blowingly talented Ms. Madison is, well this interview is sure to be a good place to learn all about her. Madison is a queen of melisma and control, and damn good pitch. Her voice sucks you in, and she sounds exactly like she does on TV. No autotune needed. She is incredible to see perform live, and I am fortunate and humbled to know her and watch her forge her own path and conquer her dreams.

March 3, 2020March 3, 2020

Dermot Kennedy & SYML || 03.01.2020

Review initially posted on Nippertown

So I generally try to go to a concert educated on the music, but this time I fell short. I attended the Dermot Kennedy show on relatively short notice, and in doing so I failed in familiarizing myself with Kennedy’s music which allowed me to attend his show with a clear, unbiased perspective. The same cannot be said for the supporting act, SYML, who I am very much a fan of. With those disclosures out in the open, let’s dive right in.

The opening act was Seattle-based Brian Fennell, or as he is known in the music world, SYML. SYML, formerly of the band Barcelona, is generally a one-man all-encompassing songwriting, producing, and performing entity. However, during an anecdote, SYML stated that he picked up a musician somewhere along his tour, a fellow Brian nonetheless. Brian offered violin and piano accompaniments to SYML’s largely mellow music.

February 29, 2020March 4, 2020

Fitz and The Tantrums || Upstate Concert Hall || 02.26.2020

Concert review initially posted for the online publication Nippertown.

Fitz and the Tantrums (FATT) has been on my radar for a lot longer than I’ve actually been actively listening to them. My father and I used to occasionally watch this show called Live from Daryl’s House. It began as a web show and later moved to public broadcast.

February 17, 2020February 21, 2020

Saint Motel is Just My Type :: February 15, 2020

Saint Motel, Clifton Park, NY, 02.15.2020

Want the abridged version? It’s posted on Nippertown

FADE IN:

EXT. UPSTATE CONCERT HALL – SAINT MOTEL MOTION PICTURE SHOW – CHILLY WINTER NIGHT

Establishing.

On the outskirts of New York’s Capital city in the town of Clifton Park, a line of concert-goers is queued up under the overhang of a strip mall-turned-concert venue. They are waiting for the doors to open so they can escape the frigid air and find their places as close to the stage as they can get. The parking lot is full of cars, full of ruts, and you can hear the sound of crunching ice chunks as cars drive over them. The green, white, and black sign above the venue door reads UPSTATE CONCERT HALL. A SECURITY GUARD takes a drag from his cigarette, then exhales into the night air, the smoke indistinguishable from the vaporized breath. The concert-goers, some of which are inappropriately dressed for the weather, jump, dance, and shuffle to keep themselves warm. They chatter and laugh among themselves.

September 17, 2019February 21, 2020

The Return of Finish Ticket || 09.13.19

This concert held particular significance for me, which is why it’s that much harder for me to write about it. Now I’ve spoken about the start of my concert photography with Moriah Formica, but it is with Finish Ticket that my journey truly began. FT is San Fransisco-based quartet that straddles the line between indie rock and radio-ready pop. I came across their single “Color” them on a now-defunct hidden section of Google Play called the antenna sampler. I fell in love with the catchy melodies and lyrics, and the youthful, yet mature-sounding pop. “Color” in particular fills me with sad sort of nostalgic longing for something I can’t quite place. Shortly after discovering their EP (sometime in mid 2015), a friend and I made our way to Boston to see them perform at Brighton Music Hall. It was here I discovered concert photography.

August 21, 2019August 22, 2019

Madison VanDenburg :: 08/18 & 08/19

Madison VanDenburg, Altamont Fair, NY, 08.18.19

The last time I wrote about Madison, she had just barely started her run on American Idol. Since then, she claimed the title of Second Runner-Up (or third place), and has been touring nationally and locally with her band and her fellow Idol contestants.