Troubador Ballads

Troubador, the hometown bar with a not-too-shabby stage, hosted a sold-out concert featuring Teddy Geiger. Opener Alexa Ray Joel was followed by Holly Brook, known for her work with Fort Minor (Mike Shinoda) on “Where’d You Go�.

Brook’s sweet, innocent voice washed over the audience like a rolling tide with mellow guitar strings and piano chords. Nevertheless, her sober lyrics are driven by poignant words and vehemence. Brook’s debut album “Like Blood Like Honey� is a definite must have.

Holly Brook

The enveloping trance left by Brook’s dreamlike ballads was soon disrupted by screaming high school girls as Geiger and band took the stage. Energy increased; the personal ambiance of Troubadour was augmented as audience members sang Geiger’s lyrics along with him. Between songs, Geiger exchanged in sophisticated yet playful banter with the audience and interjected many dry humorous comments. At one point some crazed chick, a drooling high school girl no doubt, screamed “Take it off!� Geiger’s rebuttal to the infamous cliché was a raised eyebrow and a coy “Inappropriate�.

teddygeiger

Teddy Geiger, the young songwriter/musician whom some would crudely throw into the maelstrom of “pop�…ehem Itunes…emerged in early 2006 with his debut album Underage Thinking. Despite puerile lyrics, the serene melodies and intimate whispers confidently realize the adult contemporary genre and leave the listener grasping for the fading embers of Geiger’s raspy vocals. His emergent sound is similar to that of John Mayer and Five for Fighting. Geiger’s Troubador performance met the standard of talent exhibited by Underage Thinking, if the album was not surpassed by Geiger’s personal human touch and live vocals of a more solid, virile nature. To all Geiger’s fans unable to attend, the concert was certainly not to disappoint. Check out this native New Yorker at his interactive website, Teddy Geiger Music.

After the performance, I was lucky enough to score an interview session (and autographs and pictures) with the talented Holly Brook. Thoroughly pleased with her personable presence and gracious acceptance of an impromptu interview, I asked her what motivates her each time she sets forth on stage. She claims that her music is a catharsis, her “diary place where I get off my frustrations�. Brook hopes that, if her music can console her, perhaps it will serve as a soothing reassurance for others as well. Her musical inspiration evolves from 60s and 70s songwriters and notable names such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Death Cab for Cutie. For further information on Holly Brook and for streaming audio tracks, visit her website at Holly Brook Music.