ELLE VARNER LIVE AT ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL, NEW YORK CITY, JUNE 21, 2017: CONCERT REVIEW

Elle Varner’s acoustic residency finale became a powerful reminder of resilience, intimacy, and the chemistry of live music

(Updated from an article originally posted on tripmuze.com on September 5, 2017)

The simplest stage can even unite all fans in the name of music.

That was the night of Elle Varner’s acoustic gig at the small space of Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Elle didn’t preach to fans to bond together, but her songs, her soulful voice, her strong acoustic guitar playing, her humorous talks, and her existence naturally made us one union in her concert.

June 21 was the last day of her weekly residency series titled “Acoustically Yours” at Rockwood, which started at the beginning of June. That was an acoustic concert, just like the concert title, but the simplest form of a show. Only Elle Varner, her mahogany acoustic guitar, and her Mac. That was it. No drum, no base, and no background vocal. That concert setting was totally my surprise by the artist who brought her debut album “Perfectly Imperfect” to number 4 on Billboard 200 in 2014. I thought Elle would have at least a minimal band.

And the venue was pretty harsh to celebrate the last night of Elle’s concert series. The hall was very hot when the gig started. Rockwood was a small venue but packed with many fans, probably 200–250 people, but we didn’t feel the air. The crowds shouted several times about the temperature and demanded that the AC be turned on before the show…But Rockwell didn’t listen.

Furthermore, Elle’s earpiece didn’t work.

“You know what? I can’t hear anything”. She said to a sound technician upstairs, soon after scratching the strings a few times, even before the first song. Didn’t we all hear the same embarrassing phrase on TV on the night of last New Year’s Eve? I felt the floor was frozen. The sound technician checked the equipment and fixed the wiring, but couldn’t find a solution.

But Elle Varner wasn’t Mariah Carey, who still complained about the New Year’s Eve disaster as a sound engineering error.

“You know what?…. I’m going to this first song without it,” and started with “Damn Good Friends.”

In the nervous silence that couldn’t even hear a whisper or a footstep, Elle opened her mouth to the microphone. I first doubted if she really didn’t use her earpiece, which could be critical for a show. Absolutely beautiful start. No disorder. Her voice was even getting fuller and fuller, and her guitar was getting more powerful as she played. The silence changed to applause and respect.

But Elle still had one more issue to solve. Heat. No air at all, even when the first song was finished. Elle, who wore the black jacket over a deep cut V-neck, visibly had a lot of sweat on her face. That was a hot day in June. The non-working air conditioner was simply insulting to a musician who would use a lot of energy during a performance.

Elle begged her fans. “Can I have five minutes? I’d like to change outfit”.

Everybody agreed, and she was off to the dressing room, clearly frustrated by Rockwood’s bad treatment on the last day. Then the audience complained to the venue louder about the AC because it was their second time asking. Clearly, Rockwell was far from perfect condition with air and sound issues.

Elle Varner returned to the stage with her bright smile to extinguish the audience’s tempers against the venue. She changed to the T-shirt with “THE FUTURE IS FEMALE”, a perfect choice for Elle to show her female power on the live performance.

The song right after returning to the stage was a perfect choice, too. Her smash hit song, “So Fly”. The cheerful uptempo song, also the climax of her debut album “Perfectly Imperfect”, created a positive mood immediately and heated the audience who sang along loudly from the beginning. The atmosphere was more like a big karaoke party or campfire rather than a concert, creating bonding by singing together.

Elle succeeded in impressing the audience with her high professionalism, especially with the first two songs. The situation was literally “perfectly imperfect”…the technical issues were too imperfect to have a good start. The beginning could affect the entire show. But Elle bounced back from the tough condition and performed even better than her recordings. She didn’t make any excuse. That was what a true musician was supposed to be, just perform more than what she could do best, from the worst, as a show had to go on.

Getting closer to the favorite musicians is one of the best thrills at the live performance, but I hadn’t seen a concert where a musician and fans became one like that night. Elle Varner’s concert was the place where the chemistry between a musician and their fans united. The small venue helped to be the one, but Elle’s down-to-earth performance definitely made it all together. Her voice was so expressive and caught the audience in the world of each song. Elle’s voice was more mature and thicker than on her first album and stable throughout the concert. And her voice was getting richer and more dynamic, with cheers from the fans as the show moved on. There is no musician whose voice doesn’t get fuller, and performance doesn’t get tighter by the applause from the audience (if there is, that musician has failed). That is the concert chemistry, and indeed, the chemistry was there. Elle’s humorous talk made her fans feel they wanted to spend as long as possible. Her voice, guitar, and talks created genuine chemistry with the audience and added a rich quality to the one-person show. The show was filled with positive vibes, laughter, and love entirely. That was a beautiful night of 1 hour 25 minutes, longer than my expectation for Elle, who released only one full album.

Then the climax. The emotion reached a beautiful explosion. Elle Varner spontaneously pulled one of her family members (maybe her manager as well…some of her family, including her mother, attended the concert) to the stage and let him play the piano. Elle sang “Refill” comically and “Not Tonight” dramatically. All fans enjoyed singing along to “Not Tonight” loudly with Elle. After the song was a perfect timing for some fans to give her flowers.

Then

“You sound like ya record!! That’s real!! That’s God!” A die-hard fan shouted to Elle. She explained that was why she brought all her daughters to the concert to support Elle. Her soulful and respectful speech touched Elle’s heart. Elle brought that fan to the stage and hugged her. Elle’s tears started falling.

That was when we all witnessed the emotional bridge between Elle and us. The fan repeated how Elle did the show perfectly. The entire audience agreed.

With the warm support of her fans, including those who attended all three nights, Elle confessed how she had been through. She hadn’t been able to release a new album since her first album in 2012, which was probably the question of many of her fans, including me. The music business had been tough for Elle, although the music was the only thing she wanted to do since she was a kid, and was the only career she had pursued. Obviously, the current situation gave her a lot of frustration and struggle.

The concert gave her new pride and hope; her fans. The hall wasn’t empty. The venue was filled with her hard-core fans in the city where she was born (she was originally from Brooklyn before moving to California with her family).

Elle continued to open herself emotionally with a very strong message. “But then look at where I am right now!! I swear God, I swear God. Do NOT give up, and do not look at the way that shit looks because sometimes God is trying to tell you to make the best with what you got. I GOT YOU. I gave you everything you need, and that’s what you just said to me right now (pointing at the die-hard mom). And that’s why…I wanted to do this show because I said fuck that, I’m gonna sing! I have to sing!” All spontaneous truth from Elle’s heart, not the script.

We experienced the power of music. If Elle’s performance wasn’t nice, her good message would be nothing. Even such a brilliantly talented musician with high-level skills had to struggle after the record deal with a major label fell through. The artist whose last album peaked at #4 and received many positive reviews is now categorized as an indie artist. The music industry changes fast and brutally. Still, Elle strongly stated that she won’t give up during her impressive speech. And Elle proved that she had an amazing talent to get back to success that night. She is still young with a bright future. Struggles and the " don’t give up " attitude are what everybody has to go through many times during their lifetime. Success will eventually follow after the hard work, even though the struggling period is a doubtful time about the future. There might be some fans who felt the same way about Elle that night. Elle’s message definitely encouraged all fans, including me. And Elle’s concert made fans confident that she would be back with better success.

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OVERALL SCORE: 93/100

• Performance: ★★★★★
• Excitement / Fire: ★★★★★
• Vocal: ★★★★★
• Instrumental: ★★★★
• Sound: ★★★★½
• Setlist: ★★★★★
• Stage Setting / Lighting: ★★★½
• Better Than the Recordings: ★★★★★
• Chemistry with the Audience: ★★★★★