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... by Joanne Corsano ... joanne@picturelake.com

Zoë Lewis Duo
click thumbnail to see a photo gallery
of the concert

Personnel: Zoë Lewis (vocals, piano, guitar, ukulele, harmonica, percussion, train whistle); Roxanne Layton (recorder, rain stick, vocals).

78 - Blink - Chili - Souvenirs - Step by Step - Aphrodite Hotel - Train Song - Veronica Without - These Shoes - Cup of Tea - When the Rain Comes - Welcome to the Circus - Smash ... encore ... I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby

Scroll to below videos for a review of the show.

Aphrodite Hotel

These Shoes

It was really a joy to see Zoë Lewis for the fourth time this year, and to see her at back-to-back shows with the remarkable Roxanne Layton as her accompanist. Now, confess, if I said to you that someone plays the recorder, you think of it as mainly a child's instrument, but Roxanne can make amazing music with that set of recorders, ranging from bass to soprano, and for the second show in a row she also brought her Amazon rainstick. These two talented women presented a truly uplifting set of songs to an enthusiastic audience. Roxanne will be off shortly for her seasonal gig with Mannheim Steamroller; wishing her happy trails!

Again Zoë chose several songs that are becoming real audience favorites from her strong new album, Blink. This time I got a video of the touching "Aphrodite Hotel." I think the title track is my particular favorite from the new album, but there isn't a weak track among them. A Zoë show isn't just music, of course. This evening in particular she told quite a few stories, ranging from the laugh out loud funny to one or two quite profound. Zoë moved to Provincetown from coastal England when she was a young woman and often makes comparisons to the small town of her youth. She has traveled extensively throughout many countries of the world and often recommends travel as a way to broaden one's outlook, wishing that more residents of her adopted homeland would see the value in doing so. "These Shoes" is a song drawing from this idea and putting it into a rocking meter. One can't describe a Zoë Lewis concert without mentioning the real fun she has on stage, spinning those plates on "Welcome To the Circus" to illustrate how she entertained her friend's toddlers with that technique once while babysitting; musically racing Roxanne, uke vs. recorder, on the England classic "Have a Cuppa Tea"; making music by whacking herself with percussion instruments on the new train song (I'll have to ask her the title of that next time I see her). And then the other extreme -- the songs that bring a tear to the eye -- "Souvenirs," celebrating the life of Zoë's friend who went to the other side at the age of 101; delving back into the past of women in Provincetown when times weren't quite as "out" as today in "Veronica Without," the celebration of old time music of "78," and the story song about carrying on during the pandemic of "Blink."

Wellfleet Preservation Hall is a cultural center in downtown Wellfleet. Driving into town, instead of heading to the waterfront, you bear right staying on Main Street. It's a beautiful building, a converted church, with a good sized parking lot right across the street, a gull weathervane, and grounds that make for an interesting stroll before the show. There's a good big stage, elevated off the floor. Good sound; a very good place to see a show. We sat in the front row, and immediately made friends with the folks to our left, who were acquaintances of Zoë from her home town of Provincetown, but at least one of the group hadn't heard her perform before.

One more dainty morsel: Zoë, the newlywed, was sporting a wedding ring. She had just married her longtime partner, Sharon Topper, a few days earlier, and had made a note to that effect on the billboard outside the venue advertising the show! Wishing many years of happiness to Zoë and Sharon!

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