Lena Hall
Sin and Salvation
Feinstein’s at the Nikko, San Francisco, CA, April 25, 2015
Reviewed by Steve Murray for Cabaret Scenes
I hope nobody was expecting a sweet evening of Broadway show tunes from Lena Hall, Tony winner for her gender-bending role as Yitzhak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Certainly the majority of the sold-out hometown audience was ready for her hard-edged rock/R&B approach to the chosen material. Hall herself seemed surprised that the staid Carlyle Hotel in New York City had approached her for a two- week run, given her fondness for British rock blues and American art pop.
With longtime musical director/guitarist Watt White, Hall blazed through the Led Zeppelin-recorded “Dazed and Confused” (written by member Jimmy Page, based on a Jake Holmes composition) and “It Ain’t Easy,” associated with Long John Baldry (written by Ron Davies), two numbers displaying England’s preoccupation with American blues. Her take on the funky “Psycho Killer” recorded by The Talking Heads (written by group members David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth) is more emotionally confrontational than its original, and “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” (Cam Muncey/Nic Cester) is another twist on traditional gender-based roles. Hall has no problem belting rock tunes. Her voice is powerful, intense and controlled. She adds a bluesy ballad feel to “Lake of Fire,” the song recorded by The Meat Puppets and written by Curt Kirkwood of that group; the rendition was similar to the Nirvana cover. Her softer R&B side shines on Erika Badu’s soulful “Other Side of the Game”(co-written with Jeff Lorber) and Steve Winwood’s drug-fueled ballad “Can’t Find My Way Home”.
As an aging rocker myself, I loved Hall’s vocals, White’s intelligent guitar work and the eclectic material choices. Her vocal on the powerful anti-gay violence “Take Me to Church”(Hozier) was stunning to say the least. Feinstein’s hasn’t rocked this hard ever and it was a welcome breath of fresh air.
