mieka pauley
Award-winning performer makes her mark at EUP
by Brittany Kemp/A&E editor
Just after noon on Sept. 24, the talented Mieka Pauley played with her band in the Frank G. Pogue Center food court.
There were scattered interruptions, due to faulty equipment and unruly audience members, but nothing could slow these guys down.
Whatever act follows next in the University Programming Board Performing Arts series, will have to top an awe-worthy performance.
The show started, once. Testing out the microphone and various instruments, began to sing with bassist Andrew Morgan.
Then there was a pause as any last strings were tied up, and the show started once more.
The foursome, mainly hailing from New York City, opened with the song “9:45.” All the songs, with a few exceptions, were from Pauley’s 2007 release “Elijah, Drop Your Gun.” This was produced by Brian Cassagnol, who is also in the band.
“God save the soul of the man who gave you gasoline,” Pauley sang in her powerful voice, which sounded like a stronger K.T. Tunstall, a force of nature to be reckoned with.
The next song they played was the beautiful “Devil’s Got My Secret.” It was followed by the America-like “Faster.” Between the lush sounds of the instruments and the intriguing pull of Pauley’s vocals, confused passersby were drawn in.
Her music combined elements of Americana, soul, and blues, roots-inspired strumming. Just don’t call her “folk,” as her band members laughed. It would be tempting to slap on that label, but her sound transpires one simple genre.
She (as did the members of her band-Cassagnol, Morgan and keyboardist Gabriel Hayes) seemed at ease on the stage, with her acoustic guitar, it’s strings hanging off the frets, not so much something she played but a part of her.
Perhaps it was an atmosphere better suited for a coffee house than a midday college cafeteria, but no matter. Pauley, who was nominated for a Boston Music Award and won the first-ever Starbucks Emerging Artist award, was unphased, and her music reflected that.
One woman even interrupted her halfway through a set to commend her performance and sign herself up for the mailing list, something Pauley and the band handled gracefully.
Mieka and the band played two more songs (which included “Run,”- where “Elijah” got its name from), before a break. Then Pauley ascended the stage for a solo set.
She named Patty Griffin and Jeff Buckley as two of her major influences, and both could be detected during the performance.
She played “First Stone” and “The Way It Is.” but even the highlight of her solo set was a pristine cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” a song Buckley helped immortalize.
The cafeteria was stilled to an eerie silence during her rendition. She reached the notes in a way that brought Buckley to mind.
Brian Cassagnol took over next, with Andrew Morgan, with their band, Harriet Street. The first song was Cassagnol alone, and a retort of sorts to “Hallelujah.” He took on Damien Rice’s “Delicate,” which includes the line “why did you sing ‘hallelujah’/if it means nothing to you?”
“We didn’t talk about it,” Pauley said about the choice. “but (when she heard it) I was like ‘hell yeah!” Harriet Street also did a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep,” and an original composition (“dedicated to Mieka Pauley, in Edinboro, PA!”) titled “17 Years.”
Music hasn’t always been in Pauley’s cards. She graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biological anthropology and started playing music while in college.
“I generally don’t tour with the band,” Pauley said.
True enough, as the band headed back to New York, Pauley left for a gig in Columbus, OH.
After the Radiohead cover, Pauley rejoined the guys onstage to play the last nine songs, stretching out until 2:00 p.m. They started with the epic “All the Same Mistakes.”
By then, a small crowd had gathered and was listening attentively.
“It’s not very often I encounter artists of this caliber in this region,” said Nathan McCarty, who watched on as Mieka sang a ghostly acapella “Marked Man,” using her guitar as a drum.
Veronica Milan, another audience member, agreed. “She’s really talented.”
The last song Pauley and her band treated the crowd to was “Draped In Blue.”
-
This was published on September 30, 2008
by Brittany Kemp/A&E editor
Just after noon on Sept. 24, the talented Mieka Pauley played with her band in the Frank G. Pogue Center food court.
There were scattered interruptions, due to faulty equipment and unruly audience members, but nothing could slow these guys down.
Whatever act follows next in the University Programming Board Performing Arts series, will have to top an awe-worthy performance.
The show started, once. Testing out the microphone and various instruments, began to sing with bassist Andrew Morgan.
Then there was a pause as any last strings were tied up, and the show started once more.
The foursome, mainly hailing from New York City, opened with the song “9:45.” All the songs, with a few exceptions, were from Pauley’s 2007 release “Elijah, Drop Your Gun.” This was produced by Brian Cassagnol, who is also in the band.
“God save the soul of the man who gave you gasoline,” Pauley sang in her powerful voice, which sounded like a stronger K.T. Tunstall, a force of nature to be reckoned with.
The next song they played was the beautiful “Devil’s Got My Secret.” It was followed by the America-like “Faster.” Between the lush sounds of the instruments and the intriguing pull of Pauley’s vocals, confused passersby were drawn in.
Her music combined elements of Americana, soul, and blues, roots-inspired strumming. Just don’t call her “folk,” as her band members laughed. It would be tempting to slap on that label, but her sound transpires one simple genre.
She (as did the members of her band-Cassagnol, Morgan and keyboardist Gabriel Hayes) seemed at ease on the stage, with her acoustic guitar, it’s strings hanging off the frets, not so much something she played but a part of her.
Perhaps it was an atmosphere better suited for a coffee house than a midday college cafeteria, but no matter. Pauley, who was nominated for a Boston Music Award and won the first-ever Starbucks Emerging Artist award, was unphased, and her music reflected that.
One woman even interrupted her halfway through a set to commend her performance and sign herself up for the mailing list, something Pauley and the band handled gracefully.
Mieka and the band played two more songs (which included “Run,”- where “Elijah” got its name from), before a break. Then Pauley ascended the stage for a solo set.
She named Patty Griffin and Jeff Buckley as two of her major influences, and both could be detected during the performance.
She played “First Stone” and “The Way It Is.” but even the highlight of her solo set was a pristine cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” a song Buckley helped immortalize.
The cafeteria was stilled to an eerie silence during her rendition. She reached the notes in a way that brought Buckley to mind.
Brian Cassagnol took over next, with Andrew Morgan, with their band, Harriet Street. The first song was Cassagnol alone, and a retort of sorts to “Hallelujah.” He took on Damien Rice’s “Delicate,” which includes the line “why did you sing ‘hallelujah’/if it means nothing to you?”
“We didn’t talk about it,” Pauley said about the choice. “but (when she heard it) I was like ‘hell yeah!” Harriet Street also did a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep,” and an original composition (“dedicated to Mieka Pauley, in Edinboro, PA!”) titled “17 Years.”
Music hasn’t always been in Pauley’s cards. She graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biological anthropology and started playing music while in college.
“I generally don’t tour with the band,” Pauley said.
True enough, as the band headed back to New York, Pauley left for a gig in Columbus, OH.
After the Radiohead cover, Pauley rejoined the guys onstage to play the last nine songs, stretching out until 2:00 p.m. They started with the epic “All the Same Mistakes.”
By then, a small crowd had gathered and was listening attentively.
“It’s not very often I encounter artists of this caliber in this region,” said Nathan McCarty, who watched on as Mieka sang a ghostly acapella “Marked Man,” using her guitar as a drum.
Veronica Milan, another audience member, agreed. “She’s really talented.”
The last song Pauley and her band treated the crowd to was “Draped In Blue.”
-
This was published on September 30, 2008
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