Katie McGrath & Chuck Flowers
Playing Favorites
Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, October 14, 2023
Reviewed by Alix Cohen
(L-R) Yazuhiko Fukuoka, Katie McGrath, Chuck Flowers, Mike Grysl
Photo: Jeff Harnar
It was upbeat and full of personality, but this show that featured Katie McGrath and Chuck Flowers, was not cohesive. Neither the songs, or for the most part, the awkward bridging patter were related. The arrangements by pianist Yasuhiko Fukuoka varied in tempo—slower, more dense, and less melodic than we’re accustomed to—but they all sounded similar. On guitar, Mike Grysl seemed trapped into what he played. When the collaborators sang a duet, they barely related to one another. When they soloed, they tended not to look at us.
Still, there were some highlights. For McGrath they were a solemn, focused “Landslide”; a funny, gestural “Victoria’s Secret” (Jax): “I know Victoria’s secret/And, girl, you wouldn’t believe she’s an old man who lives in Ohio/Making money off of girls like me”; and her own “George and Greta,” written with Rick Jensen. (Replace the word “Covid” and this ballad might stick around for a long time.)
Flowers, who excels at Gospel and Motown, offered a cottony, suggestive “Use Me” (Bill Withers); an infectious “It’s in Her Kiss” (Rudy Clark), that lacked the needed emphasis on the accompanying “shoop, shoop”; and a rhythmic “Speak Now” (Leslie Odom Jr./Sam Ashworth). He’s a natural dancer, and he’s smooth with the vernacular; this artist is fun to watch.
Also a natural dancer was guest vocalist Chet Whyte, Jr., who performed “Say Something” (Justin Timberlake/Larrance Dopson/Floyd Nathaniel Hills, Chris Stapleton). It arrived as a repetitive chant, and it took a political/social stand, that came out of nowhere. The evening was a mixed bag.
