On August 10th Nicola once again rocked my world. But this time from a different perspective. Because this time I was not some random guy being sucked in by her powerful voice and soul reaching lyrics. No this time I was a Nicola fan giving myself over for a true rock and roll experience.
Nicola had been advertising her birthday bash for a quite while now. You couldn’t escape the promotion on her myspace posts, mailing list and if you were lucky a in person flyer by the lovely Nicola. Like any good promoter Nicola knows the power of advertising.
The bash took place at Pianos, a nice little bar in alphabet city that regularly features all type of local live musical performances. It was an 8 dollar cover charge and I was almost crazy enough to bail because I was pretty broke. But Im glad I chose to live off my laundry money for the weekend (hey paying in quarters for food is cool) because it was worth it and more.
Once I was ushered into the backroom it became apparent that 80% of the folks that were there where in that room for one reason and that was to see the great and all powerful Nicola. What was surprising is that we really got 2 shows for our eight bucks because for the first hour of the night we were treated to The Shells.
A nice little harmony of three talented and lets face it easy on the eyes young ladies. I will be honest I did not think every song they sang was a hit. But I particularly liked like “Forget About It”and “Wrong from the Start”. Im sure they get the comparison to the Dixie Chicks all the time, what with being 3 of them and how they harmonize together but I felt they were a bit more rock and folk than country. I felt The Shells needed to work a bit more on the material but they really had allot of potential. They have a top notch band that compliments them well and I think in a few years they will only grow in their popularity and talent.
After they finished, Nicola and crew started setting up. I noticed the room began to grow in numbers pretty quickly. The Shells promoter went around the room getting folks to sign up for their myspace page (except for me who she snubbed). Nicola at one point actually looked at me and amazingly enough recognized me from our brief meeting. After quick greetings she finished setting up and quickly disappeared into the crowd. Only to reappear in a new outfit showing off her salsa skills.
What can I say about her performance that hasn’t been said? Well Nicola brought the house down. Driving the crowd wild with songs from her latest album as well as some oldies. “Don’t take it personally” “Light House” & “Limited Knowledge” were all crowd pleasures. She premiered a new song “Is anyone out there?” which was a nice hit. She cracked jokes and danced her heart away much to our delight
Eric Seiz really impressed me with his awesome guitar rock star skills. The man can really rock out and blow out your ear drums while leaving you wanting more. Im sure he doesn’t have any problems getting numbers after the show.
At one point Jimmy Wilgus (drums) and Ray “El Chino” Diaz (percussion) went on a solo that brought the house down. You can tell they really bring allot of heart to the show with their enthusiasm for the fans and the music. In fact every member of the Nicola band was integral for the magic that night had.
Finally Nicola ended her set with one of my favorite songs “One life” Im pretty sure I saw some tears in the crowd. If not my own for having it end much too soon. My only complaint is that they didn’t preform my favorite song “Leaving You Behind” but hey there is always next time right?
I think the best part of the night for me was actually the saddest. My farewell to Nicola who was nice enough to take the time to say good bye. Can you believe it? Not only is she talented and not to mention gorgeous but she has nice manners to boot?! That’s what makes this woman a rock star in my book. If you missed out on seeing Nicola preform don’t worry my friends because like the Energizer Bunny, Nicola keeps going and going preforming and marketing her music. Check out her website for all the appearances she has planned for the future.
http://www.nicolanicola.com
Off The Subway