the PENGUIN gazette: Showtime at La CAVE

A few nights back I had the pleasure of seeing a show in Costa Mesa (some of you may remember me plugging it last weekend) at a little spot called La CAVE. The show had a sort of "Singer-Songwriter/Acoustic Rock/R&B/Story Tellers" vibe to it. The show was headlined by "American Pie" actor Thomas Ian Nicholas, who you will see is also a VERY talented musician. He shared the stage with Jared Lee, who I will call a "Singer/Soul-Writer as you will soon hear. What I didn't know was that there was going to be a third act...or shall I say opening act that went by the name Laura Dowding. Let me tell you a bit about her.

Laura was a kind of unexpected delight for me. I say this because when she got on stage and started her set, I had no idea the show was starting. It was very abrupt, but cool because it quickly brought the crowd to a hush so they could listen. Laura's quirky sound and simplistic piano chops made her a fun way to start the show. She had a sweet tone to everything she sang as Ms. Dowding's voice was something like Feist meets a 40's Jazz singer with a side of Billy Joel. Her lyrics are poignant and punchy and very well structured. I unfortunately did not get the chance to speak to her but hopefully she is reading this post and appreciates the kind words. Here she is for your listening pleasure...

Our next artist I have talked about before in an older post, but because he, as they say on Twitter, "RAWKS" (and pretty damned hard I must say) he definitely deserves another go. I am talking about Mr. Thomas Ian Nicholas of the "American Pie" (and other) movie fame. Not a lot of people know that he has been making music for just as long as those "AP" movies. I have seen him perform a few times, and each time he brings the ROCK with him! You can see it run through him like tiny melodic bolts of electricity with every note he plays. I love watching an artist feel the music, and Thomas most assuredly does. His "on-stage" persona is that of an extremely seasoned musician, with his marksmen like timing and powerful voice that can fill the void of any concert hall. His acoustic/rock shows have a vibe that makes you feel like you are witnessing something intimate almost private. I recently got a copy of his latest EP and as soon as our schedules sync up, I will have another wonderful interview and EP review for you that you won't want to miss. Thomas is also getting ready for his first big UK tour and I want to be one of the many to wish him the best of luck and safe travels. Here he is performing some great tunes from the La CAVE show...

Last but in no way least, I got the chance to see Jared Lee. Talk about impressive! I really hadn't heard about him until Thomas told me that he would be a part of the show and that I should check him out. So when I looked him up on YouTube I knew I was in for one hell of a show! His soulful R&B style and catchy radio ready sound had me singing along to songs I didn't even know. Although when he did his rendition of the classic Boyz II Men song "End of the Road" (bringing 90's sexy back) it was all I could do to keep from belting it out in my "tone deaf karaoke" voice....really its like nails on a chalkboard sometimes. Jared also told us a bit about each of his songs and that gave everyone there another reason to think that this guy has something special. His Gavin Degraw/The Script style songwriting and buttery voice made me buy his EP "Falling Through Holes" just as soon as the show was over, and believe me you will hear more about that album soon! Before I get carried away (like I tend to do with amazing sounding artist) check out a few of these songs from his La CAVE set and enjoy. Oh yeah....YOUR WELCOME IN ADVANCE!

Well that wraps up this edition of The Penguin Gazette. I hope you all support new music and check these three out. Also be sure to check back with me to learn more about these and other new or "new to me" artists. You can find info on all these artists by following the following links.