| . | 06/16/2009
Ute Lemper at Poisson Rouge
By: Deirdre Donovan
Ute Lemper at Poisson Rouge
One Night Concert
Lemper celebrates the release of her new autobiographical album “Between Yesterday and Tomorrow”
Bring on the new songs! German-born chanteuse Ute Lemper celebrated the release of her new autobiographical album “Between Yesterday and Tomorrow” at Poisson Rouge on June 9. It was the first time that the actor-singer exclusively showcased her own songs, and it revealed an entirely different dimension to her cabaret art. Known for her amazing interpretations of German cabaret songs and French chansons, Lemper showed that she also has a terrific talent for spinning her own personal history into music. Walking on to the stage in a jean jacket, sequined top and tailored pants, she still looks like the post-modern Dietrich—with talent to burn.
The evening’s opener was “Blood and Feathers,” a daringly honest song that peels away all the guises that can conceal the Truth. The song is tinged with a Brechtian attitude and flavor, and boldly speaks about political rhetoric and how too many words can be flying in the world’s arena. “Peel off the layers/Strip off the vanity . . .” If you carefully listen to this song, you will be wiser to the Truth behind this one and that one.
The next number—“Wings of Desire”--shifted into a more romantic mood. And like the proverbial iceberg, most of this song’s substance lies beneath the surface— to be plumbed by the creative imagination. To be sure, this is all about the landscape of a lover’s heart and how true love is beyond facile words and Hallmark expressions. How does Lemper resolve the chasm of language between lovers? She doesn’t. But she does offer a bit of stoic advice: “Remember that the poet never speaks.”
If silence hovers through “Wings of Desire,” it completely infiltrates “September Mourn.” An elegy to those who died in Nine-Eleven, the song uses a mix of realistic images (“The sky was bright and blue”) and the surreal (“a vast weeping space”) to reflect the tragedy. Lemper--born in Munster, Germany--offers a different vantage to the horrific event because of her European background. This is a very touching song, and the homophonic word play in the title (“mourn” and “morn”) serves as a potent reminder that bright things can quickly come to nothing.
In the same vein as “September Mourn,” “Ghosts of Berlin” evokes another dark chapter in contemporary political history: the Berlin Wall. You won’t feel like a tourist if you accompany Lemper back to the days when the Berlin Wall stood as an imposing relic from World War II. In this haunting historical portrait, Lemper feelingly describes how the Wall’s barbed-metallic appearance seemed like a cold fortress from a dim century (“It looks like some structure from the Middle Ages--”). The song clearly derives its power from Lemper’s own experience growing up in Germany, living in the shadow of this towering monstrosity.
Despite the fact that Lemper promised to keep the evening brimming with her autobiographical items, she graciously succumbed to requests to sing a few French songs, including Jacques Brel’s “Amsterdam,” Leo Ferre’s “Memoir de la Mer,” Edith Piaf’s “L’accordeoniste” plus an encore of Kurt Weill’s “Bilboa-Song.” These delectable morsels brought a genuine sophistication to the event. And who can blame audience members for wanting to listen to Lemper sing these great classics?
Lemper was accompanied by a band of top-notch musicians on stage: Vana Gierig (piano), Don Falzone (bass), Todd Turkisher ( drums), Tito Castro (bandoneon), Manny Morrero (guitar), Tim Quimette (trumpet). A talented ensemble, they added poignant shades of meaning to some songs, plus lots of oomph to the entire evening.
If you missed the one-night concert at Poisson Rouge, you missed a world-class show. Lemper’s autobiographical numbers are a welcome addition to her repertoire, and break fresh ground in her multi-faceted career. Some songs serve as cautionary tales, some are downright earthy, and others—to borrow from her own lyrics (“Luna”)— gently “whisper prayers at night.”
For more information on Ute Lemper, visit http://www.utelemper.com
Her new album “Between Yesterday and Tomorrow” can be found on http://www.amazon.com , http://www.iTunes.com , http://www.barnesandnoble.com and Barnes and Noble stores.
|
|