Christina Thompson Lively 11/17/08 TCAN Open Mike, Natick MA

[mad baggins]

I'd never seen Chris play in this particular setting before, that of
being the featured performer at an open mike.

I'd seen Chris play solo gigs in a club setting (Vanilla Bean in
Pomfret, Mother's in Troy) and in a festival setting (Twin Angels Folk
Fest in Southington).

I'd seen Chris play with her sister-in-law Kathryn in the Livelys duo
(several times).

I've usually seen Chris play with her twin sister Meredith as one-half
of the duo of Chris & Meredith Thompson (all over the place).

And I've seen almost every Strangelings appearance, where Chris is one
of three female lead vocalists, along with Rebecca Hall and Maura
Kennedy.

Parenthetically -- I am the Number One fan of Chris -- having seen
every billed appearance by her since 8/5/05, except for the 3
Strangelings appearances I missed (NERFA, Folk Alliance, Philly Folk
Festival), 2 solo Chris shows in Pomfret I missed, and 2 Chris &
Meredith Thompson appearances I missed (Nashua Valley Folk Festival
and Dover-Foxcroft, ME). I've seen all other billed appearances by
Chris (solo, Livelys, Chris & Meredith Thompson, and Strangelings) for
the past 4 years.

Chris has "Really Got Me," and she's really got talent! Her singing,
guitar-playing, and songwriting put her in a class by herself. That's
why I've been seeing her shows and reviewing them all!

Last night, Chris said that she and Meredith used to do a lot of open
mikes, and that this return to the open mike scene reminded her of how
much fun it was.

Most Chris appearances are shows in front of typical club or festival
audiences. The open mike vibe is much more collegial, with many
performers taking turns, basically performing for each other.

At TCAN in Natick last night, the open mike started at about 8:15 with
roughly 10 different musicians playing one song apiece.

After a short break, Chris did her featured performer set starting at
about 9:10 --

Lift Up Your Voice & Sing
Lines of Longitude
Tanglewood Tree
Old Man of the Mountain
** Let Freedom Ring (new song)
Clearwater

Shenandoah - encore - a cappella

"Let Freedom Ring," the new song, was inspired by Barack Obama. Chris
said she'd started to write it after hearing his stirring speech at
the 2004 Democratic Convention, and just finished it "in the hall," as
she said, the night of the open mike.

I recognized a couple of faces at the open mike, besides Chris --
including Don White, who has co-billed with Chris in Pawtucket and in
Quincy -- and Dan & Faith Senie, who were part of the Kennedys'
"October Surprise" at the Bitter End!

I'm not sure how many performers went on after Chris's set, because I
didn't stay to the "Bitter End" -- ! :-)

Next up for Chris -- Chris & Meredith play Second Friday Coffeehouse
in Belmont MA this Friday.