Newcomer Lola Colette started out the night with a slow song working into a more upbeat set. She has a very good voice, and the songs are solid. Although she lost me with her cover of The Pretenders song “Brass in Pocket”. I would rather she just do her own material, but I get why she did it. it’s a great way to try to connect with an audience that does not know you or your music. I guess I should be grateful that she didn’t cover a Patti Smith song because that would have been pure torture.
She has elements of 90’s artists like Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, and perhaps a bit of Aimee Mann thrown in for good measure. If Lilith Fair still existed, she would fit in perfectly. I would guess this is not really her crowd. But I think she is talented and has something to say. It will be interesting to see what happens to her moving forward.
I was curious to see Jerry Cantrell on his own instead of with Alice in Chains. Tonight, was the opening night of the Brighten tour for him. He played a 16-song set with many songs off his new album Brighten. He opened with “Atone” and closed with “Brighten”. The crowd was totally into it and the Palace is a great place to see a live show. It’s an old theatre in downtown St. Paul that has been converted into a concert venue. I highly recommend you visit.
Along with “Psychotic Break”, “My Song”, “Prism of Doubt”, and “Angel Eyes”. He pulled out some Alice in Chains songs for the faithful including “Would?”, “No Excuses”, “Got Me Wrong”, and “Them Bones”. It was a great set list and a wonderful night of music. You could tell they were happy to be playing and were smiling a lot and nodding after the first song. I got the impression that they settled into it quickly. Go see this band and pick up the new record Brighten.
