This is the 3rd Spectrum night and it is starting to live up to it's name. Each night has been very different and tonight was a Sunday folk night.
 
To kick the night off was Rusalka, a one woman show refreshingly with no frills. A solo singer and keyboard player who instantly captures your attention. The obvious comparison would be an early Kate Bush, not just because her vocals sound incredibly similar but also her songs have the same dreamy feel. She looked a little nervous on stage but as she said near the end of her set it was the first time she had played on such a big stage. Despite that the performance was flawless and the simple keyboard melodies worked in perfect harmony with her dreamy vocals. Another great find by the Spectrum team and I'll certainly be eagerly waiting until I can see her again.
 
Tonight the Dome Studio Theatre was unusually laid out with tables and chairs which worked a bit against Warsaw Radio. With their toe tapping rhythm section providing a steady accompaniment you felt the crowd would loved to have danced along. The songs are a more traditional Irish pub type affair with the expected guitar and occasional violin adding the required melodies. Similar to Rusalka, the songs have a dreamy quality that pull you in. Having seen them before in a pub venue it certainly felt like the seating arrangement worked against them and had you taken away the chairs then the whole place would have been dancing along rather than just tapping their feet.
 
The real reason for the seating became obvious when Carrie Tree took to the stage with acoustic guitar and a mandolin player. With her gentle vocals, soft guitar and delicate mandolin playing this was much more of a sit down and pay attention set. With a mixture of her own songs, a few covers and tracks that had influenced her and some light hearted banter in between it was a mellow intimate performance. The only problem being that it was so sparse in places that you almost felt you had to not move a muscle for fear of making a sound and breaking the magic of the music. Nevertheless they managed to hold the audience in their spell till the end of the night and finished off yet another very different Spectrum event.
 
Warsaw Radio Rusalka
Warsaw Radio Rusalka
 
Websites:
Carrie Tree carrietree.co.uk
Warsaw Radio warsaw-radio.com