Emmy The Great
The art school crowd is out in force tonight at the Ruby Lounge to appreciate some nice anti-folk music in the guise of singer/songwriter Emmy the Great.
This Hong Kong émigré (she moved here with her family when she was 12) appears fresh-faced and unruffled in a scruffy blouse, skirt, black tights and brown brogues.
Launching directly into clear voiced song she starts the set We Almost Had a Baby 'I remember how we met/but your name I forget/like the door that I have kept unopened...you were stroking me like a pet but you didn't own me yet/and the tape in the cassette was choking, spelt out a broken halleluiah, the original Leonard Cohen version.'
She thanked the crowd for coming out on a footie night "we thought you should have won" she quips dangerously assuming everyone supports United. "Is that the right thing to say?" she smiles apologetically, totally disarming all the boys in the audience.
The crowd is quite and appreciative.
There were times when the gentle folksy songs threatened to morph into blue grass jigs with the addition of a violin (played like a guitar at one point) and mouth accordion but this never really materialises. Lyrics and melody dominate, the band adding layers of sound to songs that would sound just as good played on a single acoustic guitar.
When two or three girls in the audience start singing along softly and self-consciously to a song called 24, it creates lingering echoes to this bittersweet song, which makes the hairs stand up on the back of my arms.
At it's most superficial it's about a boy who watches too much telly and forgets to live life. "Can I just say I don't think there is anything wrong with watching 24 hours of the wire!" she clarifies to the crowd with a wry smile. That's good because neither do we! Overall, maybe not quite Emmy the Great, but certainly Emmy the very good.
Leonie Gabrielle Tancred
Photos By Andy Perkins