Kate interpreter in NYC area

[DSearch@aol.com]

[I visited NYC last fall and my sister, a music reviewer for a local cabaret
monthly, took me to see a performance artist named Kat Elwynn Devlin.  I
posted a review of the show on AOL at the time, but have read nary a mention
of Devlin since subscribing to Lovehounds for the past couple of months.  In
the event Devlin's been overlooked here, following is a copy of my original
review]

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"Kat Elwynn Devlin Sings The Songs Of Kate Bush" is just that -- Devlin is an
actress and club singer and rabid Bush fan whose repertoire consists solely
of Kate material.  I caught her, in a sparsely attended mini-concert (i.e. 15
or so people in a lounge that holds 4 times that number) during her current
engagement Monday nights at Eighty-Eights in Greenwich Village.

Devlin started with a somewhat nervous and overly understated reading of
Running Up The Hill, sans any beat whatsoever, which segued into an equally
tentative Moments of Pleasure.  But with Wuthering Heights, she found her
groove -- her pianist, Ross Patterson, contributed synthesized drums,
harpsichord, and bass, and the duo managed to bring off a performance which
was actually superior to Bush's somewhat fatigued Hammersmith Odeon
rendition.  

Man With The Child In His Eyes was fine but not much different than what Kate
does, but Devlin breathed new life into Moving and Symphony In Blue -- both
were better than Kate's originals, with Kat giving each a heartfelt,
passionate -- and CLEAR -- delivery.  In fact, throughout the show, Devlin's
faultless elocution allowed me to catch many lyrics for the very first time.

Other highlights included dramatically performed and imaginatively lit
versions of Under Ice and Infant Kiss, and enjoyable comedy like There Goes A
Tenner, Coffee Home Ground, and Babooshka -- all of which probably benefited
to some extent by Devlin's decision to not fly too solo and instead utilize
the directorial skills of Drusilla Davis.  For her finale, Devlin saved the
best for last -- a searing, chilling rendition of This Woman's Work, which
managed to dampen eye sockets as effectively as the Sensual World original.

Devlin is more of a KB interpreter than an imitator.  She appears more
comfortable with drama and humor than with sensuality.  Feel It, in
particular, seemed somewhat forced.  Her act doesn't include Bush's patented
Hammersmith pyrotechnics -- mostly, she's at the mike stand, sometimes on the
piano (shades of SNL!), and sings her heart out.  

If you're a KB fan, and getting to NYC on one of the next 3 Mondays is
doable, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not checking out this show.
Whether Devlin has the uniqueness and authority to make it big-time might be
a valid question, but her ability to deliver the goods in the meantime to a
Kate-starved nation is, IMHO, beyond question.

"Kate Elwynn Devlin Sings The Songs Of Kate Bush"
8 pm Monday nights 9/19 thru 10/17, ~ 50 minutes

Eighty-Eights
228 West 10th Street
(212)924-0088
$12 cover/2-drink minimum, cash only

PROGRAM:

1-  Running Up The Hill
2-  Moments Of Pleasure
3-  Wuthering Heights
4-  Man With The Child In His Eyes
5-  Moving
6-  There Goes A Tenner
7-  Experiment IV
8-  Under Ice
9-  Mother Stands For Comfort
10- Infant Kiss
11- Feel It
12- Symphony In Blue
13- Coffee Home Ground
14- Babooshka
15- This Woman's Work