Seeing Trixie Whitley perform has been on my radar since a friend introduced me to her music three years ago, and my wish was finally granted over the weekend at The Red Room at Café 939 (a Berklee College of Music venue).
She postponed a tour from earlier this year when she was booked to play a slightly larger venue, but I am glad she played at The Red Room because the sound is excellent and it is an intimate space which suited her music well.
Trixie’s music is not easy to quantify, at least not in a neat little package. While it is certainly alternative rock, it is also soul and blues and even a little jazz (at least in my humble opinion). There is sometimes a trance-like quality to the music as well.
Earlier this year, Trixie released Porto Bohemica and most of the set drew from that album. I have listened to that album since its release, but after hearing the music played live I have a deeper appreciation for it. It is different than the previous album, Fourth Corner, which enthralled me from the first listen, but it is equally as good.
There were times that I closed my eyes and let her music transport me; I landed in a serene place and was quite content to stay there during the show and for a while after it.
On most songs she played electric guitar but on a few her only instrument was her ethereal voice. On the songs where she did not play guitar, her facial expressions displayed great emotion and those were the times I felt most connected to her.
Trixie had a small touring band with her for this show which included Chris Morrissey on bass and backing vocals, Daniel Mintseris on keyboard and backing vocals, and Yuval Lion on drums. There is clearly much chemistry among them, especially between Trixie and Chris; I was close enough to them to catch the subtle grins and eye contact.
Toward the end of the show, Trixie stepped off the stage and sang to her band from the audience. Although she did not interact much with us, I felt that she became a part of us.
This was not a long show, but what it lacked in length it more than made up for in quality. They were on stage to perform for us and even though the audience was smaller than they deserve, we appreciated every note.
Opening the show was Berklee student Brenna Carroll, a songwriter who plays keyboard. Her style is slightly pop-y jazz, and the audience (some of whom were friends of Brenna) reacted positively to her music.
Also performing with a band that consisted of bass, guitar and drums, Brenna knows how to draw the crowd into her music. She has an engaging style and I expect we will see more of her in the future.
This review originally posted on Suze Reviews the Blues, where you can see more photos from this show.
