Tampa Calling

It probably wasn’t intentional, but Phoebe Snow’s opening song at Tampa Theatre on Wednesday night, “Standing On Shaky Ground,” was acutely autobiographical. She turned in a spirited, funky rendition of the tune, but the subtext was that Snow, in fact, is standing on shaky ground, and she’s not doing anything to conceal it.

photo: Jayson Matteucci

This coming Saturday, her daughter Valerie would’ve turned 33. But Valerie died of a sudden brain hemorrhage last March. This was Snow’s only child, who was born severely brain-injured and never was able to speak. Two people were never more in love, and Snow has not hidden her pain and desperation.

Every one of her shows is a tribute to Valerie, and the singer talked extensively about her late daughter on stage, at times fighting back tears. (And sometimes the tears won. Snow at one point asked if anyone in the audience had a tissue, and three people rushed forward.)

That was the underpinning for the master vocalist’s first Tampa Bay performance in many a year. While her four-piece band backed her ably, and Snow showed off extraordinary chops and feeling, there was never a sense of celebration about the night. Most every one of the ardent fans in the half-filled theater knew Snow’s story, and they were rooting for her. But a sense of sadness hung over the proceedings, which was certainly poignant, but was also at times lugubrious.

Snow was quick with a quip, and told some funny stories, but never did it seem as if her heart was truly in the performance. Not that the audience minded. They hung on every note.

Snow has been taking classical voice lessons for a dozen years, and her skills are extraordinary. Her range is umpteen octaves, but she didn’t overdo it last night, was never too showy. That said, she did swoop up into the stratosphere a few times; she is, after all, an entertainer, and knows that a crowd needs pleasing.

Snow mixed originals like her signature hit “Poetry Man” with several cover tunes, the best of which was “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man.” She also performed “A Little Piece of My Heart,” and made me almost like a song that I would’ve gone out of my way to never hear again. It helped that her rendition was playful, and included several teasing snippets from random pop tunes.

It’s rare that you see a performer who reveals herself completely to the audience like Phoebe Snow did last night. Those on hand were the better for it.

I interviewed Snow last week, and if you didn’t catch it, I really feel it’s worth reading. Check it out here.

Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment