Bethesda, MD (DC metro) -- July 21, 2016 -- w/ Dave Damiani

[Miguel]

I like the addition of the bass played with a bow on this rendition of CHFIL. It adds to a haunting quality to the song.

Yes, very nice. It just showed up on my list of videos recommended by YouTube.

[popfly38]

I was wondering what I was hearing, thought that maybe there were strings out of camera view...but it became clear that Alex, the Bass player, was using a bow, with this tweet for tonight.....

thisisAC ‏@_thisisAC 24m24 minutes ago
There's still time to get to tonight's @HaleyReinhart + #NoVacancyOrchestra show at @DHTheater at 8pm! #ThisIsAC
https://twitter.com/_thisisAC/status/756993163185627137

At one point early in the show, when it was just Dave and the Instigators on stage, DD identified the bass player as the musical director or coordinator. He looks even younger than Haley. I wonder if he's responsible for working up the arrangements of Haley's songs?

[john]

Somewhere I read Alex is 24.

http://www.alexfrankmusic.com/

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.
Alex has paid some dues

[Tom22]

Awesome.. this song is really my favorites and I'm feeling Haley coming across as more kick-ass sort of confident that things are going her way.. .and that attitude comes through in how she colors the words etc...

I like pride and stuff on display ... proud about the fight through the darker days and proud that it has/is working out great.

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Here's popfly's "At Last" unlisted for now (pending his OK to make public)

*note the two ladies in the band enjoying listening to Haley singing

I also loved this version of at last... there are so many ways to spin the song.. some with larger spoonfuls of Nostalgia, some with pinches of Wistfulness, and some with a few heavy dashes of Triumph .. like this one has.

I really like the pianist here ...because of his swagger and sort of shameless glee in his chords/runs . I can think of a like Gene Kelly in singing in the rain or something.

[Tusk]

She does sound great w/ a 'Big Band' behind her, but I think they missed some opportunities at the end, to lift Haley's voice, a crescendo, triumphant...maybe w/ some brass.

Because I've edited so many videos from the tour, I have the stellar back up vocals on this song from Jacob, WillyRay and Thomas...so when I listen to this version, my mind recalls the back up vocals ....

Haley sounds great, but hearing this w/o the back up vocals, it's a shame they couldn't somehow do it w/ the instruments in the band

The stand outs of the set are definitely At Last and Creep for me

[Tusk]

Thanks to popfly's last vid of DD singing & introducing the band, I have the entire band's roster (with help from John)

Gary Matsumoto (Piano)
Alex Frank (Bass)
Aaron McLendon (Drums)
Bijon Watson (Trumpet)
Luke Brandon (Trumpet)
Sarah Marie Hughes (Alto Sax)
Leigh Pilzer (Bari Sax)
Elijah Jamal Balbed (Tenor Sax)
Reginald Cyntje (Trombone)

When I can, I like to give credit to the performers in the description of my vids

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I also loved this version of at last... there are so many ways to spin the song.. some with larger spoonfuls of Nostalgia, some with pinches of Wistfulness, and some with a few heavy dashes of Triumph .. like this one has.

I really like the pianist here ...because of his swagger and sort of shameless glee in his chords/runs . I can think of a like Gene Kelly in singing in the rain or something.

I agree, Gary Matsumoto's piano play really stands out among the instruments as it compliments Haley's vocals well. One of the negatives to the Laguna vids is you never got to have a good listen to his keyboard playing because of ambient noise. I was able to listen to Laguna audio w/o crowd noise and his keyboards were pretty good back then as well, we just couldn't hear it clearly

Another thing came to mind, the Laguna Beach performance is awesome, but having listened to this version a few times, what strikes me is how much smoother Haley goes into and out of the song, what's it called, her 'phrasing'(?) is just so easy as it glides (not sure if that's the right word).... It just stood out to me on this performance.

I wondered if this was the difference between getting rehearsal time w/ the band and not getting any (Haley had less than an hour to rehearse and they stopped after trying on two songs at Laguna..... she told me she thought the show didn't go as well as she liked, but I convinced her she was great, then she agreed to let me post the videos)...maybe that's what she was referring to, she hadn't familiarized herself w/ their arrangement, maybe in her mind, being a perfectionist, she could've done much better.

I think she was really really good on this performance
(Dan Kaneyuki's sax is missed though )

[popfly38]

Someone PM'ed me earlier to ask if we had 'Little Bill Burr' at our table in Bethesda. This in reference to the little kid's voice you can hear in a couple of the videos. That voice is my grandson who is almost 8. For reasons I won't get into we weren't able to get a sitter for him that night. I called the venue and they said kids over 5 were welcome so I told my wife let's just bring him along, I'm sure he'll like it. And he did! It reminded me of when I was growing up in the SF Bay Area. My Dad worked in a building in San Carlos near what was then the Circle Star Theater, a theater-in-the-round (circular stage that slowly rotates so everyone is center stage at some point) that hosted any number of famous acts in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Sadly it's not there anymore but some of you Bay Area Haliens may remember it. My Dad knew the manager and often was able to get tickets. He and my Mom usually went but he took our whole family a couple of times a year. I saw Sinatra when I was about 12, Sammy Davis, John Gary, Andy Williams, Vic Damone, Steve and Eydie, the impressionist Rich Little and when I was older I went to Circle Star with my brother to see acts like the Eagles, Jefferson Airplane, Tower of Power .... Anyway I felt very pleased to be able to take our grandson to see Haley, although he was by far the youngest Halien in the room. I hope 50 years from now he'll look back to when he first saw the 'fabulous Haley Reinhart' as I look back to the great singers and bands I was lucky enough to see as a kid.
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Oh I forgot to mention Lydia Pense and Cold Blood, an SF Band that often played together with Tower of Power. Of all the 70's rocker women, Lydia is the one Haley most reminds me of, more than Stevie, Janice, Grace Slick etc. In addition to the big voice, Lydia is about 5 feet tall and was in those days what we called a stone cold fox. Sound familiar?

If you have never heard of Cold Blood here's a sample:



I think Haley would kill this

[john]

She also sounds like Haley when she speaks
https://youtu.be/cLb6rUZlJ7A?t=355

Cold Blood is right up Haley's alley. It has the rock-funk-soul and blends in the jazz. Hoot, hoot!

[Tusk]

Add this to the list of things that could've knocked your recording awry. Young children can be quite unpredictable because many of them come with too much energy to sit and 'quietly' enjoy a show, heck you can hear from many recordings I've posted, many adults have that problem too That you have good video means his memory of that night will be reinforced every time he watches it

Thanks again, for being at the show and recording it. From the videos coming out of New Jersey, it seemed that the MD show had the better environment and ambiance to hear and enjoy Haley, not to mention, it appeared NJ had an extra guest vocalist sing in Landau jr, from America's Got Talent. I kind of wonder how far off course they went from their stated "raison d'etre", that it would be a night celebrating the Women of Soul, when the one woman they had, Haley, sang less than 50% of the time?

At least last year, they stuck to the celebration of Sinatra theme, singing many of his songs as well as surprising us by bringing on a vocally talented, and show appropriate singer, Matt Forbes.

BTW your CHFIL video got a 'like' from Haley today, she also liked a tweet from someone else who posted one of the vids from your Youtube

C-Dunc ‏@freakychris_d Jul 23
Haley Reinhart sings " Creep" with Dave Damiani and the No Vacancy Orch...@HaleyReinhart can't wait 4 London date!

[Tusk]

Cc: popfly

Bethesda Blues & Jazz @BethesdaBlues
Hi, @HaleysTusk - We love all the @HaleyReinhart & @Dave_Damiani you're sharing from their recent show @BethesdaBlues! ^rr

Nice note after retweeting & liking a few of my tweets, I do really appreciate it, though the irony of a venue who has a strict policy against videoing shows, using said videos to promote their venue, has not escaped me