"In the Raw" returns, plucking some of the bay area's top singer/songwriters from their bands for an intense solo showcase.
By GINA VIVINETTO
Published November 27, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - The "In the Raw" acoustic singer/songwriter series returns to the State Theatre with a bang.
The concept is simple: strip the songwriter of his or her band. Let the singer go it alone under the bright lights.
Conceived by local musician Joran Oppelt, who put it on hiatus in 2002 because of his many commitments, the series is being reintroduced with the help of Natty Moss-Bond, of the St. Petersburg band Sparky's Nightmare. Moss-Bond says she was motivated to jumpstart the series, which brings musicians to the State every Wednesday, not only to have folks see local talent, but to keep herself and other musicians challenged in their art.
"Musicians need to be nurtured in order to create," Moss-Bond says. "No one is going to do this for us. We have to do it ourselves. We need to create places and venues where we can work out new material and meet new people. We make our own scene and keep ourselves stimulated."
"In the Raw" kicks off with an impeccable roster of Tampa Bay area talent: three guys and three ladies, all dazzling songwriters.
Shotgun Wedding frontman James McFarland, from St. Petersburg, serves up stories set in noirish barrooms about down-on-their-luck fellas crushing out their last cigarettes, savoring the smell of a dame's perfume. It sounds brooding, but pay attention to how McFarland's lyrics teem with wry abandon and wit.
Enjoy a solo set by John McNicholas, guitarist for his own John McNicholas Band and Sparky's Nightmare. McNicholas writes ennui-filled love tunes about the dames that toy with his vulnerable heart. How anyone could hurt this wordsmith, whose new CD, How To Be Alone, is filled with rootsy alt-pop gems, is a mystery. McNicholas' tunes, and his clever stage patter, are not for the irony-deficient.
Also performing is series organizer Oppelt, best known as guitarist for the Gita. Recently, he has been working new songs with his new band, Auditorium.
The women performing are among the bay area's best. We don't get to see Tampa's edgy Anna O. often, so don't miss this opportunity. Anna O.'s tunes are poetic, coy and wild in their scope. Think of PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, then clear that from your head, because Anna does her own thing. She's restless and she ropes you in. Will she play piano or guitar? It's likely even Anna won't know until minutes before the show.
St. Petersburg's Rebekah Pulley gets labeled a folkie, which makes about as much sense as calling Picasso a folk artist.
Pulley writes songs that make mincemeat of your emotions once you let their subtlety vex you. She's got the voice of an angel, but with sharp insight into the human condition that only a little devilish living provides. Pulley's careful with her delivery, too. Like the greatest singers, she knows restraint is a beautiful thing; sometimes being stingy is the most generous gift of all.
Jen Shamro is the baby of the bunch, singing feminist-fueled tunes in the vein, so I'm told, of Ani DiFranco and other edgy chick singers.
In the Raw begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the State, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Admission is $3.
