A couple of weeks ago I went to see Kaki King play at the Brookdale Lodge out on Highway 9 in Santa Cruz county. King was the headliner so I wasn't expecting much with the two opening acts, Nico Georis and Sarah McCoy. But both put on tremendous performances. The combination made for a great evening despite the late start and lack of heat.
Georis led a full band with a set of up-tempo freak folk Highway 1 music with a vocal style reminiscent of Donovan or Lou Reed on a better day. Georis is primarily a keyboard player, but also played guitar on a couple of numbers which I caught on video.
After some delay, Sarah McCoy took the stage with a series of blues-belting numbers playing piano and occasionally guitar. She has a powerful vocal style that is authentic and moving. She played mostly original songs from her CD "Songs from Under the Bridge" including the extremely clever "Use Caution" and finished the set with a cover of "Mad World" that was riveting.
Both bands are from the bay area, and if you have the chance to see them live, you will enjoy it immensely. Hopefully the promoter Folk Yeah will get some more gigs for these artists in the coming months. A heated venue would be nice also.
- MySpace: Nico Georis, Sarah McCoy
- Monterey County: McCoy Channels Homelessness into Soulful Music
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