hotel cafe tour

last night i went to singer-songwriter show called the hotel cafe tour. well, it was more like a 5-singer-songwriter show. held at the park west in lincoln park, the show had a 4 man band and 5 rotating lead singers, all performing their own songs. all happened to be girls.

mustic is one of the great things about chicago. a lot comes from here and a lot comes to here. the performances last night:

• meiko (from georgia, suprising singing voice, makes john mayer faces)
• jaymay (from nyc, quirky lyrics, amazing voice)
• alice russell (from the uk, kind-of 70's disco feeling, deep strong voice)
• rachel yamagata (from chicago, beautifully soulful songs, sultry/sweet voice)
• thao nyugen (punky, dances while playing, shouts the chorus, energetic)

all but one of the performers played guitar or piano, all were enthusiastic and energeteic, and all had simply amazing voices. it's hard to decide a favorite, but that was the great part about the show: basically 5 concerts in one, and the musical types varied throughout the evening.

the park west is a great venue as well. intimate, tables and chairs, a bar, open floor in front of the performers, clean bathrooms.

if you have the opportunity to see the show or any of the individual artists, i highly recommend it.