Alexz Johnson at the Sinclair in Cambridge MA — DejaVuBooks
This is a great article about Alexz’s show at the Sinclair. I think the author hits on a lot of why we love Alexz as well as her music and continue to support her any way we can.
Alexz Johnson at the Sinclair in Cambridge MA
Being a writer of fiction for teens and young adults, I run a lot of stuff on Netflix for noise while I write. Instant Star was recommended several times, but not being a fan of reality television, I know, sad but true, I passed it by for a while, as it was about a winner of a reality show. My mistake! When I finally did give it a shot, one thing was immediately obvious. Someone could sing their ass off! After a bit of research, thanks IMDB.com., I learned that it was the show’s star actually doing the singing as well. Not totally unusual, but singing talent like that with acting talent to boot is rare indeed. Many try, most fail, but not Alexz.
I’m a longtime musician and I’ve opened for a few big names myself, so I know of what I speak when I say that Alexz is a rare and phenomenal talent. As I bought more and more of her stuff, it became clear quickly that not only does she have talent, Alexz is a true artist. Many people with a lot less talent are singing substandard songs to huge crowds who don’t know any better. Alexz rises above and refuses to compromise and for that, all real musicians owe her a huge debt of gratitude.
Real music has been under attack since the dawn of the music video, which made looks more important than talent. Please don’t think I’m slighting Alexz in any way, as she is a beautiful young lady and I stood beside her for pictures, so I’ve seen more than the Hollywood version. The point though, is that in today’s music world, what we find are mostly model perfect people and a healthy dose of Autotune (SP?), the bane of music’s existence. Looks, check, voice, don’t worry about that… And that’s what passes for music to the masses.
Alexz delivers real music that doesn’t have to be blessed by a marketing department that is more worried about what sells than what is good. Her music lives and breathes and goes wherever her artistic heart takes it. That’s rare today and more than welcome!
So, to the show. Upon arriving at the Sinclair, the first thing I notice is that I’m one of two guys waiting to get in. The second is that I’m OLD! I have to admit that I had no idea who Max was, so that was sort of surprising, but no big deal. Ten to fourteen year old girls are easy to see over, even at my modest height!
After most of the line went inside for the Max VIP experience, my daughter and I walked inside to find out about Alexz’s VIP thing. Big swallow, shake of the head, um, sir, she’s um, not here yet. Probably cancelled… Ouch! Yes, the disaster that is the traffic of New England caught Alexz out, as it catches pretty much anyone not willing to travel at 2 a.m. (Pun intended!) out in the cold.
Well, the nice folks at the Sinclair threw us a bone and let us into the show area before the main crowd. We ended up right in front of Alexz’s monitor and watched in mild amusement as she ran into the place, unpacked in a frazzle and did a quick, but brilliant sound check. I was close enough to hear her voice in its pure, unamplified state and it was magic!
Upon completion of the sound check, Breezy called for all of the people with VIPs for Alexz. Doh! Perfect viewpoint lost, but the VIP experience was on. I never doubted for a second! Alexz was friendly and personable and nice to talk to. My daughter and I got pictures and scooted back inside, posting up right behind the sound guy, which was elevated and a great viewpoint and close to center of the sound.
Alexz takes the stage, pretty much on-time too! Not bad considering Breezy was still parking during the sound check and Megan had to bang the cajon. At some point, I will see Alexz with the full band, but this was a great first exposure to Alexz live. Alexz and a gorgeous guitar doing what she was born to do. As she worked through the set, Megan and Breezy came and went, although Megan played almost the full set.
The tunes were from the upcoming album, featuring all four songs from the Heart LP, which I signed up for almost immediately after hearing Alexz for the first time. The set was augmented by new tunes from both the album and the television show Blue on Wigs, which Alexz plays a part in. The song Mary from the Blue recordings was familiar already, because Alexz is very generous to her pledgers. Despite some delays in the album, she sends out songs on occasion that are much appreciated!
Now, I come from a musical family. My 70 year old dad is also a huge fan of Alexz, but not much for concert going anymore. When I played ‘Thank You For Breaking My Heart’ for him, he couldn’t believe that the song was recorded in 2013. He said it very much reminded him of early Diana Ross. And when I played him ‘Walking’, the first Alexz song he heard, his reaction was immediate. “Wow, who’s that!” This from a man who still gets onstage and belts out the Elvis tunes when people ask him to.
I speak of these two songs, because they were immediate favorites of mine. I was actually walking for exercise right after downloading Skipping Stone and when ‘Walking’ came on, I actually stopped walking. It literally blew me away.
Now, being an artist and something of a musical tuning fork, I feel music very deeply. In all of my books published to date, I thanked Dream Theater for reasons not needed here. In one of those acknowledgements, I speak of being moved to tears at their 20th anniversary show at Radio City several years back. Musical perfection just affects me, especially when it’s powerful and emotional.
‘Thank You For Breaking My Heart’, even without Alexz’s introduction that it’s a true song for someone who did break her heart would have moved me to tears. Watching her bring out the pain and open herself up, while performing flawlessly absolutely did. I’m not ashamed to say that. Artists live by conveying emotion and we’re affected by others work, no doubt. ‘Walking’ once again moved me. A girl, her guitar and an outpouring of emotion is a powerful thing. If you don’t believe me, go see it for yourself.
I do have to mention the rest of the trio. Megan is amazing. She brings the right amount of keys into play and harmonizes very well with Alexz. I’d like to see them stick together for the long haul, because they work so very well together. And Breezy, wow. She’s the musical megatron. She’s the road manager, VIP tour guide, drives the blues mobile AND gets up on stage to add percussion to some of the songs. And together, the three young ladies will blow you away. If they haven’t come to your city yet, GET TICKETS!!!
Now that Alexz is a part of my creative process, she will be thanked in my novels as well. Being based in New York, three point five hours by GPS, 6 hours by the traffic from where I live, I hope to one day go see one of her local NYC shows and bring her a signed copy. Until then, I’ll continue to listen and support her in her musical endeavors, while she keeps it coming and keeps it real!
Pete Adams
