Why You Should Start Listening to Grace Love [REVIEW]
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She’s called Seattle’s “First Lady of Soul.” And with cause. Grace Love – who spent the last few years in New York City – has the pipes to match. She and her backing band, the True Loves, are on the up-and-up, and you should start listening.
Last week, the chanteuse returned to the Lower East Side to play a rather stripped-down set. The nine-piece ensemble was whittled down to a meager duet – she with guitarist Jimmy James – for the stellar cellar performance at Rockwood Music Hall (i.e. Stage 3).
The set was short and to the point. A sit-down affair. No crazy effects pedals or other sonic bells and whistles. Just two guiltars, a Fender amp, and a gospel voice channeling the likes of Etta James. Grace Love, backed by the frenetic fretwork of Jimmy James, belted through her budding repertoire of funkified soul. Even peppering in a handful of intriguing covers. For instance, the inspired reinterpretation of “No Diggity” or Prince’s “Kiss.”
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Song highlights included “Fire,” “Say What You Gotta Say,” and “Let Me Be.” But we especially enjoyed the 12-bar blues improv using three words picked from the audience (tender, judgment, chocolate).
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