Alela Diane at The Luminaire

I went to see the rather marvellous Alela Diane at The Luminaire in Kilburn tonight. The Luminaire is a new venue for me but I'd thoroughly recommend it. I'd also recommend Alela.

I found Alela Diane on MySpace following a rather convoluted search for Buffy Sainte-Marie which eventually led me to Mariee Sioux and then to Alela. I listened to her tracks on MySpace and downloaded a couple to enjoy and when I saw that she was coming to London I thought, 'why not...?'

The evening kicked off with Madam, a duo who were rather dirgey and made me think of 'goth-folk', followed by Simone White who had a nice voice that seemed to have some of the vocal mannerisms of Suzanne Vega. I quite liked some of the songs (especially the new single) but why do folkies have to mumble when they talk to the audience? She was clear enough while singing.

Then came Alela, accompanied by partner (?) Tom on bass guitar for most of the set. For some reason Alela stood in shade while Tom was in the spotlight which was odd. As soon as Alela started singing I knew I'd made the right choice in trekking up to Kilburn.

Alela has a wonderful clear, powerful and expressive singing voice and a lovely guitar picking style that made it sound like there were several people up there playing. She played the few songs I knew and a lot more. My favourites were 'Dry Grass And Shadows' and the encore song, 'The Rifle'. Her lyrics are intriguing, painting strange and sometimes disturbing pictures, other times witty or joyful, with the simple backing of two guitars. She played for about an hour (or just under) after which I headed straight for the merch booth to invest in her album and was also given an A4 tour poster as a bonus.

I'm pleased I went to see her. It's nice to discover new music and just goes to show that you shouldn't miss opportunities to see live music. I had a nice evening and now have a new musician to enjoy.