Concert review: Emily Elbert and Dan Dyer at Opening Bell at the Mosaic (January 3)

by Zach Lewis of Zlew.net

There are some shows you just shouldn’t miss, and Emily Elbert playing with Dan Dyer at the downtown Opening Bell location was definitely one of them. It would seem that a few other people felt the same way about this show; I showed up just a few moments after the first set started, and when I walked up the ramp from the coffee side to the stage area at Opening Bell, all I could see was a wall of people. It was jam packed, standing room only, and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to sneak in and get any pictures.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Emily rocks! Every time I have seen her play since she was 17 years old, she has really impressed me, and every time I have seen her since she has only improved . I guess they don’t let you into Berklee for sucking :). The set she played was a great mix of her older music (can you really say “older” when talking about a 20-year-old?), some new tracks, and some great covers. The covers ranged from Michael Jackson, Allman Brothers Band, The Beatles, and Macy Gray; I think the variety of music did a great job of keeping the diverse crowd involved in her performance for her entire set. Her style is light, acoustic folk/soul, and her talent is incredible. With school being out of state, and playing all over the country, she only makes it to Dallas a few times a year. Keep your eye out and make sure to catch her the next time she is in town. This girl is going places….

Dan Dyer’s sound is so hard for me to nail down. I would say the foundation is Soul…but he’s built so much on top of that. Some of his music has an electronica/psychedelic feel to it that is difficult to describe. Many of his songs will have drawn-out conclusions incorporating feedback, reverb, and some other effects that remind me of some of the experimental things the rock bands were doing in the 60’s and 70’s. This is especially true on the songs where he is playing the keyboard. He has a great voice with a lot of range and power. This is the first time that I have seen him play when he wasn’t solo, and I enjoyed the addition of the electric bass and cello. Dan’s set was a lot of fun, and he played until the closing bell. His and Emily’s style complemented each other very nicely, and made for a great night of music. Dan is based out of Austin, but makes it up to Dallas every few months. Check out his MySpace for dates/locations.