Concert Review: Rachael Yamagata – Live! in Singapore 2009

(Pardon the lousy photo)

If Rachael Yamagata weren’t a singer, she’d probably make a very good PR representative.

The affable New Yorker was in town last Wednesday, playing to a sizable crowd at the Esplanade Concert Hall, and in between songs she bantered with the concertgoers. With an innate ability to engage and connect with people, she treated the audience like a bunch of old friends, sharing anecdotes and silly tales about her life.

"It’s totally worth the 25 hours getting here," she told the adoring crowd. She was nursing a bout of flu, caught during her long journey here, but tried her best not to let it bog her down.

Show openers Jack & Rai put up a pleasant performance and played 4 songs before the intermission, after which Rachael took to the stage with her four-piece band, and launched into the title track off her latest two-part record, Elephants... Teeth Sinking Into Heart. There was a cellist in the line-up this time, adding a different dynamic to the sound. It was a nice touch since the cello features more prominently on the new record, and the mournful yearning of the instrument truly conveyed the heartrending content of her songs.

The audience was pretty attentive, eagerly lapping up all the songs that followed. Rachael alternated between the piano and the guitar while she did a selection of fast and slow songs, focusing mainly on material from Elephants.

She was almost apologetic for churning out songs revolving round the themes of love and heartbreak. So "Little Life", she chuckled, "is actually about death".

The pace picked up with "Faster", the second single of the new record, followed by crowd pleasers "Worn Me Down" and "Letter Read", before winding down with the instrumental version of "Elephants".

The flu started to get to her, so she told the crowd that she would do a few more ballads instead. She did. "Meet Me by the Water" was particularly memorable as she recounted its origin. Back then, she was attached but had the hots for another guy who was similarly in a relationship. She initiated a date with the dude, but was thankful he didn’t turn up eventually. "So I didn’t get too evil. I just had evil thoughts, but I didn’t commit any evil activities," she quipped.

And she went on to stress these lyrics (in bold), which made the audience crack up:

Would you please meet me by the water, baby? / We'll have a really good time / Would you please meet me by the water, baby? / 'Cause I can't get you off of my mind

She was amazing on the slower numbers. The soulful delivery, the poignant lyrics, and the way she tinkled those ivories gave me tingles.

Before playing "The Only Fault" (the hidden track off Elephants), she recalled a drunken fan who approached her backstage after a show and told her:

"I love your music! I have sex to your music!"

"And the best thing about the hidden tracks 'cause you are lying in bed after you have sex to your music and the hidden track comes on and I wake up and I’m like, 'I gotta go! I have work tomorrow!'"

Rachael also spoke about the process of making the record in Woodstock, NY. While holed up in the mountains, she saw bears – feeding on turkey carcasses, she remarked – and feared for her life. Equally hilarious was her account of meeting a trumpet-playing ghost and how she tried to communicate with it. She attempted to record the beautiful sounds that the other-worldly being made and that gave her the inspiration for the opening portion of "Over and Over".

"I plagiarised a ghost," she declared.

"Accident", a gritty rock track that was one of my favourites off the second CD, came on eventually, but fell short of my expectations as I strained to hear her voice. The main set wrapped up with "Sunday Afternoon", a gorgeous song that she wrote at the tail-end of the first record. Guitarist Michael Chaves was sublime as he worked his magic in the initial part of the lengthy number, leading the way to a crescendo, before the rest of the band built on it and the songstress kicked in with her smoky vocals, sending the audience into aural heaven.

As soon as the final song ended, she left the stage, and some fans started streaming out of the door to join the autograph queue.

But the show was not over yet, as Rachael reappeared for the encore soon after. She played "Duet", and in an attempt to imitate Ray LaMontagne’s humming (she sang the song with him), she improvised with some harmonising, switching pitches to comedic effect. Eventually she bowed out with "Reason Why", one of her most recognisable songs made popular by movies and television shows.

My friend Q and I exited the hall to join the post-concert autograph queue, but we were greeted by a line that snaked on forever. I complained about the short ½ hour allocated for the autograph session (as I always do, but it was warranted because we narrowly missed out on getting her autograph at her previous concert) and the slow-moving queue.

Fortunately, the session was extended.

I stood in line for 1½ hours before I got to meet her, but it was worth the wait. Since Q had to leave early, I got a girl behind me to help me take a photo with Rachael. She signed my copy of Elephants, as well as an old photo that we took with her previously.

"Oh god, I looked so young then!" she gushed. We laughed and I reassured her that she looked as beautiful as ever.

I didn’t get the name of the nice lady who helped me, but overhearing her conversation with Rachael, I realised she was the one who requested for "1963" during the encore. Incidentally, after she made that song request, someone else immediately called out "Quiet". I didn’t know if it was a request (Rachael has a lovely song by that name) or if it was just asking Ms. 1963 to, you know, zip it. It was rather amusing though.

We left around midnight, but I read much later that the autograph session stretched on for 3½ hours. Rachael Yamagata made a special effort to stay on and speak to every single fan this time, and it obviously made everyone’s night an unforgettable one.

Rachael Yamagata - Live!
Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Setlist:
1. Elephants
2. Be Be Your Love
3. What If I Leave?
4. Little Life
5. Faster
6. Worn Me Down
7. Letter Read
8. Elephants (Instrumental)
9. Even So
10. Meet Me by the Water
11. The Only Fault
12. Over and Over
13. Sidedish Friend
14. Accident
15. Sunday Afternoon

Encore:
16. Duet
17. Reason Why

(Videos courtesy of YouTube users defglo and jazzicallytuned. Thanks!)