I have reviewed Alynda Segarra, aka Hurray for the Riff Raff, several times and so I won’t spend time repeating myself about what a wonderful singer songwriter they are, consistently delivering stunning live performances with those personal songs delivered with passion and often fragility.
Tonight of course was no exception. The difference though was the setting and the intimacy that comes with these songs being performed as a two piece sat armed with just an acoustic guitar for Alynda and an electric for her usual bass player.
There’s a large number of new songs performed and on first listen sound consistently good and really whets the appetite for a new album. In this stripped down setting the songs stand naked, front and centre and have no room to hide within the usual band performance. And stand up they do, the sparseness of the set allows the audience to really engage and get lost in the lyrics. There is a hushed reverence from the crowd who are just rapt in what they are seeing and hearing. This type of show also highlights what a beautiful voice they have which again can often be lost within a full band performance.
Of course it’s not just new songs but there’s a good mix of tracks from the last ten years or so and a nice cover of Joan Osborne’s ‘One of Us’ to boot that got the crowd singing. Set closer Pa’lante never fails to move you and again its message is amplified by the intimate setting.
So rack this one up as another high quality show from HFTRR which stood out from others with the acoustic dynamic.
Keep on intimately rockin’ y’all