Concert review: Rahim Quazi, Manya, and Shanti Michelle at The Listening Room inside Club Dada (April 22)

by Zach Lewis of Zlew.net

Once again I begin writing a blog post where I am already painfully aware that I will likely fail in my attempt at brevity. This seems to be a trend. How can I keep it short when I have three artists, and one new venue to tell you guys about?

The Listening Room is actually a separate room inside of Club Dada. As you enter Dada and head past the bar towards the patio, you will see a large door on your right under the bashed guitars (pic above); pass through that threshold and you will find what you are looking for. I was really impressed with what I found there; the room is quite large with with a very classy atmosphere. New hardwood floors, classy chandeliers, leather couches, high top tables and stools really made for a nice mellow feel. The stage stage has plenty of room for a full band, and creates additional intimacy by not being raised above the level of the crowd. I would guess there is actual seating for around 30 people, and if you used the floor and standing room you could very easily double that number.

Some of the photos they have on their site looks like they also have extra chairs for more busy shows. I felt like it really accomplished what the name implied. If you are looking to experience some great music in an intimate setting reminiscent of a house concert/show, the Listening Room hits the mark. Salim Nourallah is booking the venue and has some fan-funkn’-tastic artists on the books including Billy Harvey and Johnny Lloyd Rollins. I highly recommend checking out this venue.

The first act of the night was someone who was new to me, and absolutely amazed me. Her name is Shanti Michelle, and she is one of those people who after you hear her voice you find yourself saying, “Damn, did that voice really come out of the girl on stage?”. It should not be possible to have such a sultry and soulful voice coming out of such a petite young lady. Check out her MySpace and check out the 2nd track she has on her play list ("Fools are a Long Line Comin’") to get a little taste of her sound and style. If you get the chance to check out her show, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Next up was Miss Manya, who is one of the coolest Russians in North Texas. I think this is the third or fourth time I have seen her play, and even time I see her show I am only further impressed. She is currently working on two projects (Blue Petal and Morning Elephant). Morning Elephant is pretty new, and I have not yet seen her perform any of that material live, but I really like what they have on their site. It looks like they are starting to book shows for early summer. This evening was Blue Petal showcasing many of the songs from their new album “Golden Storybook”.

The lyrics and general songwriting is simply fantastic, and the delivery is authentic and powerful. One of the great things about shows like this featuring singer song writers is that because they are playing their own material, they can add a level of personal touch and feeling that is hard to reproduce when you are playing a cover. Manya did a great job of adding that little extra something to each song. As I expected, I completely enjoyed the show, and I am looking forward to getting my hands on the new Blue Petal album when it comes out, and seeing Morning Elephant live.

The third act of the night was Rahim Quazi. I saw him play years ago at the Granada opening for Ian Moore. That show was full band (with an extremely energetic violin player!), so it was interesting to see him in a very different setting in a small room with just him, his guitar and piano. His portion of the show was very light and fun. He seemed extremely comfortable and conversational with the crowd (which is hard to accomplish in most live music settings). He had the audience help him out with the backup vocals when he played “Super Natural”, and spent a little bit of extra time to explain the background story of several of his songs. His music is fun to listen to, lots of tempo changes and upbeat tracks.