Lady Carol sits on her stool with her ukulele and mandolin, wearing a black velvet robe that gives her the appearance of a fairy tale enchantress.
The more somber, reflective songs show her voice percolating, becoming richer in the air as it seeps into you. The more soaring tunes surge like a lush carpet rolling outward.
Her act radiates elegance as she sings a mix of original songs and covers with a deep rich voice that is uniquely her own. One forgets that it is light outside as her powerful sound fills up the room. The fate of the show is decided by two bowls, from which she picks out the next song to sing. Between the songs, she tells a “confession”, also picked out from the bowls, which she affectionately refers back to as her “two balls”, which add a light, playful touch to the act. Her anecdotes create a personable aura about her, and the audience laugh regularly at the silly jokes between the songs.
But by far the highlight of the show is the music. Songs that particularly stood out during this performance were her renditions of David Bowie’s Space Odyssey, Velvet Underground’s Sunday Morning, and Queen’s The Show Must Go On. Lady Carol commands a wide range of repertoire (including a song originally by M.I.A, the rapper, as I found out after the show), but she makes every one of the songs something of her own. The more somber, reflective songs show her voice percolating, becoming richer in the air as it seeps into you. The more soaring tunes surge like a lush carpet rolling outward. Lady Carol is an ethereal singer, and this pay-what-you-want show deserves a full house every performance.
