Saturday, April 16, 2011

September 10, 2009 Lara Herscovitch and Reed Waddle

Lara Herscovitch and Reed Waddle came to Deepwells for the kick off of Acoustic Long Island’s fall and winter series. Lara Herscovitch had a beautiful voice. She opened and ended her set with a powerful and stirring number that went through a range of emotions, the final number masterfully incorporating The Star Spangled Banner into the fabric of the song. Her songs demonstrated her strong commitment to social causes. They were at times personal, and sometimes funny, such as the Blah, Blah, Blah song—a mock love song. While the majority of her compositions did not hold up to the promise contained in her first number, she shows strong promise as an artist.

 
Reed Waddle was a complete surprise, who captured the wow factor. With a boyish face and an unassuming personality and with a head that rocked expressively back and forth like a metronome, he quickly proved himself to be a talented guitarist and songwriter. He played his guitar with the expressiveness usually found on a piano, incorporating a jazz style and phrasing not that different from Ari Hest, but possibly better. He used a scat style and a mellow silky voice that moved as effortlessly as his guitar playing through his songs. Even his use of the harmonica with each note being picked out with uncanny skill, and his distinctive voicing, at one point trumpet like, turned him into a one man band. It was a night to remember and another Dave Dircks great find.

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