Thank goodness for SuZanne Kimbrell. Her enthusiasm going into her first Twist Dallas GLBT night was brimming. Perhaps it was nerves, but by the end of a long night, she had a success on her hands. With a lineup of seven local acts, all out artists (except one who snuck in), she pulled off a helluva fun time on a hump day — and not even in Oak Lawn.
Da’rrell Cloudy kicked it off nicely with throaty vocal runs over his acoustic guitar. The guy is only 21 but had the poise of a veteran. Jay (Jennifer) Bean, below, followed, recalling the tone of Sarah Jaffe. The one-two punch of acoustic starters made the night promising.
One-man band Gringo Soul, right, followed up with his eclectic sound layering using mini-synthesizers, drum machine acoustic guitar and a piccolo. He was the lone straight that got in unde
r the radar. Not really sure what that story’s about, but his music was compelling, upbeat with shades of Barenaked Ladies.
Chasing the Muse and Suzanne Kimbrell followed with impressive sets. Muse had sound issues and gave them a rocky start, but once fixed, they were committed to a raucous performance. Kimbrell and guitar gave us both tender and blithesome tunes. By then the LBG was a packed house. For a Wednesday night full of gays (OK, mostly lesbians) in East Dallas, that’s a big deal.
I was most curious about the last two acts because I had written about them already. Immigrant Punk, top, was so many things balled into one. She was Zen, she was intense. At times angry and then flipped to sweet. She drummed with an accompanying Spanish guitar and it was both lush and mesmerizing. Infidelix came to the stage with a cold, so his voice wasn’t up to par, but two very un-hip-hop looking sidekicks filled in with freestyling raps between songs so he could deliver another. And he did. He pumped up a late evening and though the crowd had thinned, they gave it up for him.
Hopefully they gave it up for Kimbrell as well. Not only was it a good energetic night, but I think it was an important one. Her plan is to do a Twist Dallas night at least once every two months. So I’m clearing my calendar now. For a fairly blurred video (low light, yo) of some of the acts, click here. You can hear ’em good.
This was great show! I especially loved the performance from Immigrant Punk. The different emotions displayed with the vocals and the dyanmics of the music was perfect. <3
Thank you Suzanne Kimbrell for putting together Twist Dallas. I have been performing in the local music scene for 10 years and have never had a place to share my music with the GLBT community. Finally a place that welcomes original music and art in our community. The line up was so diverse yet all the performers owned the ring in their genre. SuZanne Kimbrell blend of soul gospel and old school jazz always puts me in the mood to smoke a cigar and own the place. Chasing the Muse, where have I been! Original, tasteful, melodic, sexual, romantic. The music made me want to be bad and enjoy every minute of it. Infidelix=Fun=I’d put my money on Infidelix’s lyrical skills=Fun. I look forward to being part of the Twist Dallas Tribe.