Dare I say it? At the ripe young age of 30, Spencer Day is maturing. With each returning show at the sparkling new Rrazz Room, Spencer Day gets more comfortable with his stage patter, his original material grows stronger and more assured, and he can do amazing things with what he terms his ‘new’ standards (songs from his recent youth redone in his unique crooner style).

Day has many styles to choose from given his childhood influences of grand old MGM musicals to the country of Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash to the rockabilly Elvis Presley. Many of his finest originals have the musical soundtrack feel of the best of the '40s and '50s with their textured compositions, bouncy piano runs and Day’s wonderful voice. Case in point is "The Movie of Your Life" which is pure Gershwin/Porter done hip and sensuous.

The set opened with the vamp blues of "Til You Come to Me" and "Someday," a number that displays Day’s very adept piano skills. He settled into a series of songs about the meaning of home and “finding your heart”: "The Little Soldier" with its country lilt, advice to the traveler in "Joe" and a beautiful "The Vagabond" which repeats the phrase “I keep movin on.”  These tunes speak to intransigence and movement, no doubt a reflection on his travels from Mormon Utah to the canyons of LA and NYC.

Six songs into the set and not a cover to be heard – very bold and very exciting for this talented songwriter. After a funny sampling of "All I Do Is Dream of You" from Singin in the Rain, Day wholly transformed Rodgers and Hammerstein’s "I Must Have Done Something Good" from The Sound of Music into a lovely self-affirmation ballad. He did the same with two “new” standards—a bossa nova styled  retooling of the Turtles 1967 smash "Happy Together" and a remarkable version of Depeche Mode’s '90s anthem "Enjoy the Silence" heightened by Day’s sparse piano melody and Yair Evnine’s haunting cello lines. Stunning, original and entertaining.

New original songs from forthcoming CD filled out the set: a tender tale of passing time and making the most of every moment ("The Weeping Willow"), the Cole Porteresque wry social satire of the toils and troubles of Marie Antoinette ("Poor Marie") and  the family drama of "Skeletons in the Closet."

Day’s music challenges the listener both lyrically and musically with his use of complex yet complimentary chord changes and tempo shifts. He employs either simple progressions or grand orchestral arrangements influenced by his love of the grand long gone movie musicals adding his own touches of sophisticated wit, jazz stylings and pop influences. If Spencer was around in the '50s they’d say that cat is cool. Day shies away from filling his set with American Songbook standards – he’s too busy writing his own.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
June 17, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org