NICOLE ATKINS, BEYOND THE SEA
Nicole Atkins (with drummer Dan Mintzer) at The Delancey in NYC, May 2007. It was a no-cover show, just like her gig this Tuesday night at The Downtown in Red Bank. (Photos by Dave Cromwell)
By LAURA SCHNEIDER
Mid-set at a recent Wonder Bar appearance, a fan thrust Nicole Atkins a business card, which she stopped to read.
“Dennis,” she said, peering over her mike at him, “I don’t need any wholesale foods. I need your complete attention.”
She pitched the card to the floor, but then winked and added, “…but I’ll call ya on Monday,” and without missing a beat, launched into her next song.
If you’ve never before indulged in an Atkins show, we here at ORBit are wondering what you’re waiting for — and even if you’re crying Cratchit-level poverty this season, there’s still no excuse. Like many area musicians, Atkins is possessed by the spirit of the holiday season — and the next couple of Red Bank evenings find her taking part in a high-profile, big-ticket benefit show, as well an under the radar club appearance that’s being offered completely free of cover charge.
First up is The Big Show, with Atkins lending some female sparkle to a bill otherwise dominated by the usual who’s-who of Jersey Shore guys, during tonight’s Hope Concert IV. You can check out a feature story about the annual benefit at the Count Basie Theatre right here on today’s oRBit. But if you still need a ticket—and it’s in your budget—better get moving, as the show is thisclose to a sellout.
At the other end of the spectrum, both musically and financially, is Atkins’ cover-free acoustic appearance tomorrow at The Downtown, which she’ll play sans her band The Sea. Instead, she’ll be joined by a host of guest players, including Rick Barry, drummer Jeff Plate and guitarist Brad York of Manhattan-based Sikamor Rooney, and Parlor Mob guitarist Dave Rosen and drummer Sam Bey going incognito as The Black Jesuses.
Drummer Dan Mintzer rocks his sleighbells with Nicole at The Delancey.
Atkins fans delight in her penchant for doing these occasional “secret,” free shows at local venues like The Downtown and Red, and occasionally hopping onstage to join friends like Blue Highways at D’Arcy’s Tavern in Bradley Beach orJoe Finn, Jr. at Avon’s venerable Norwood Inn.
Following a whirlwind year of playing 70+ shows from the Soho Revue Bar in London to the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and myriad points elsewhere, Atkins is back home in New Jersey and studio-bound to record her as-yet-untitled second full-length studio CD. She’s been writing constantly while on the road, testing new songs like “I’ll Wait for You,” “The Tower,” and “Teen Creep” on her fans. To sate them in the meantime, Atkins recently issued a four-song EP, Nicole Atkins Digs Other People’s Songs, featuring covers of tunes by artists ranging from Mama Cass to Nada Surf.
Atkins has seen tons of press over the past year, having been constantly compared with with Roy Orbison, Amy Winehouse, and 1960s girl groups. The first thing you’ll notice is her voice, all shimmer and velvet in one moment, soaring and passionate in the next. Maybe you’re more into musicianship, in which case her band, the Sea, rarely disappoints (with special props to drummer Dan Mintzer on sleighbells). Perhaps you’ll be drawn to her songs, enchanting tales of love and loss, hope and despair, with imagery drawn from her youth on the Jersey Shore and her young adulthood in places both exotic (Australia, the American South) and not so much (Brooklyn).
Atkins also brings to the party something not every musician can: an engaging, good-natured, and chipper stage presence. The Jersey girl loves playing close to home, evidenced by the way she thoroughly enjoys chatting up her audience.
Although she will be busy in the studio for the immediate future, Atkins has another benefit show on her 2009 agenda, a January 9 headlining appearance at Manasquan’s Algonquin Arts Theatre, the proceeds of which will be divided between Oxfam America and the Save Darfur Coalition. But you can see her right here in Red Bank tonight and tomorrow…take your pick, or take in both.
Hope Concert IV at the Count Basie Theatre – At press time, a handful of tickets were still available online at both the $500 and the $350 price level, and the Basie’s website claims tickets at the $100 level are available through the theatre’s box office at 99 Monmouth St. Tonight, 8:00pm.
Nicole Atkins and Friends Acoustic at The Downtown, with Jeff and Brad of Sikamor Rooney, Rick Barry, and the Black Jesuses. Tomorrow, 9:00pm. No cover.
Click here to see Atkins perform “Maybe Tonight” from her November 26 show at the Wonder Bar.
Posted
December 22, 2008
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