SAN FRANCISCO SHOWS HOLLYWOOD HOW IT'S DONE: Terese Genecco at The M Bar & Restaurant; August 30, 2007
This, of course, refers to TERESE GENECCO & her recent CD release show "Drunk With Love: A Tribute to Frances Faye." I have never written a show review before, because I simply don't know how, but with this show, it comes easy.
First off, the beautiful M Bar was completely jam-filled with the who's-who's in LA Cabaret. To name only a few; JOANNE TATHAM, MARYJO MUNDY, SHAWN RYAN, ANDREA MARCOVICCI, TOM CULVER, GINA ZOLLMAN, RAY JESSEL, GREGG MARX, KERI KELSEY, LINDA KOSUT, STACY SULLIVAN, ANN LESCHANDER, RICK STARR, LEW SPENCE & SHAYNEE RAINBOLT - who did two great numbers as Terese's special guest. Hmmm... what a show this line-up would make - but on to the real show.
Let's talk a little about Terese's "Little Big Band". Well it's not so little with 7 pieces, and if they got paid double, they would still be worth every penny. Keri Kelsey told me after the show that she'll never do a show again without a wind section, and she's right. The sax, trombone, & trumpet players were incredible and really added so much.
There were so many stand out numbers in this show but three of my favorites were; "I Wish That I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate", a really hot "Night and Day" with a bit of a Latin beat, and "Unchain My Heart", that for a minute, I thought the audience would demand an encore of. At 90 minutes, this show never let up and where I've seen singers start out strong and find their voices getting weaker with every song, Terese's got stronger.
At one point Terese remarked that they would be returning to New York with "Drunk With Love 2" without stopping in Cleveland because they would never know who Frances Faye was there. Yes, "Drunk With Love" features songs recorded by Frances Faye, but also by dozens of other singers too. If you take away the very well-covered biographical portions, you're left with one thing: TERESE GENECCO - the real reason to see this show.
I predict that 50 years from now, someone, somewhere, will be doing a Terese Genecco Tribute Show. Let's hope we're all around to see it.
If you missed this show, don't fear, you can buy the CD at:
www.cdbaby.com/cd/TereseGenecco
And here is a great site with some back story on FRANCES FAYE:
http://www.tyleralpern.com/francesfaye.html
Les Michaels - L.A. Cabaret News (Sep 1, 2007)