Band Personnel: Zoë Lewis (vocals, piano, guitar, ukulele, kazoo); Liam Hogg (drums, backing vocals); Ron Siegel (bass); Mark Chenevert (clarinet, backing vocals)

I Can't Give You Anything But Love - Always a Sixpence - Very Very Fine [not sure of song title] - Prince of Love - Hell but Swell - Rotary Phone - Welcome to the Circus [with spinning Vaudeville plates] - Sweet Georgia Brown - Between Dog and Wolf - Breakfast Blues - These Shoes - Eyelashes

Setlist also available at setlist.fm

Very Very Fine

Hell But Swell

Welcome to the Circus

We'd seen Zoë Lewis at the recent New Bedford Folk Festival, but this was our first time seeing her with her band. The three backing musicians were fantastic, adding a musical richness to her superb songs. The clarinet, played with flair and style by Mark Chenevert, was particularly important to the sound of the songs. Zoë is a pop chanteuse/songwriter whose work strays into the styles of cabaret and jazz sometimes, while sometimes staying joyfully in the pop realm. I am not a big fan of the saxophone as an instrument in popular music, and thus I was especially pleased that her band includes a clarinet instead, with its sweet melodic tones. Mark never once made any screechy sounds on his clarinet. For an outdoor concert, the sound was very good and every instrument being played on stage was clear as a bell. The other musicians were drummer Liam Hogg, who played a small drum kit that was just the right amount of sound for Zoë's acoustically-based music, and standup bass player Ron Siegel, who as well as being an accomplished player, is a bit of an acrobat; during one song he rested his upright bass on its side and climbed onto the instrument, playing it all the while. (I think I caught this trick in one of the videos.)

The setlist consisted of some of Zoë's older songs as well as a sampling from the new album, due out very shortly, and a couple of covers from the deep well of popular and cabaret music that Zoë is so adept at playing. One of the new songs, "Welcome to the Circus," features Zoë spinning four plastic plates on sticks in a routine straight out of Vaudeville. One is not surprised at this kind of trick from a performer who writes with such nostalgia about rotary phones, 78 rpm records, and other ancient devices.

The musicians set up on a stage behind the Truro library, and a multitude of concertgoers made themselves comfortable with lawn chairs and blankets. It was a very pleasant summer evening on the Lower Cape, just perfect for an uplifting and fun hour of music from a fantastic songwriter and her wonderful band. Zoë's songs are so good, and her attitude is so positive and upbeat, it is literally impossible to leave her show without a smile on your face.

Here is a page with a handy list of links to all pages on this website with content relating to Zoë Lewis.

Click for 2019 Concert Page with links to all 2019 concerts ... Click for Main Concert Page with links to all years

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