Concert Review: Sabrina Ellis Is The Fire Of Sweet Spirit
I am consistently asking myself if I can fall in love with a person’s talent? There are moments, like in Sabrina Ellis’ Rough Trade NYC show, that I kind of wish I had the power to box a person’s talent in a treasure chest and run away with it like Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Ellis’ ability to light up the stage with a tenacity that could lead an army to war or broker peace is what makes Sweet Spirit a band to watch.
In terms of musicianship, Sweet Spirit CANNOT be beat. Playing off their album, St. Mojo, I found that their music comes to life when live. “Pamela”, “Power”, and “Sweet Jesus” all seemed like big band productions, and brought the southern Texan, even NOLA vibe in their band. All they needed was to pass out parasols and masks, and we had an NYC Mardi Gras. That rich, “I’m Alive” feeling guzzled through the night like fine wine from a gauntlet, and the audience was drinking it up, in part, because it enlivened their album. It was as if we had heard the record, previously, and then we finally had the chance to LISTEN to how extensive its rock n’ roll gravitas truly is. If you read my album review for St. Mojo, you will note that, for the most part, the album is about persevering through the “mud” of life to become a “flower” of sorts, which seems to be a message Sweet Spirit represents even in their origins. Yet, the flower of this band is, again, Sabrina Ellis.
When you go to a concert, you can love and like an artist. Yet, genuine admiration and impressiveness is something that is earned. It cannot be feigned because, frankly, it comes from surprise. I had not idea of the ferocity of Ellis as a singer and dancer. The woman is a rhythmic earthquake; forget seismic! She can shatter the earth with her energy and movement that is so organically fabulous. She twists, turns, and twirls as if she were the head of a marching band to the glee of her bandmates, and fellow lead vocalist, Andrew Cashen. They all smile and marvel at her dynamism, to which Cashen remains a cool balance to Ellis’ firebird motions and vocals. I say firebird because she wore a red-sequined jumpsuit that made her freeing persona feel like a Phoenix on stage. In the album, their singing blended in more, but, in concert, their vocals transform into a “ying and yang” that gives their harmonies a more anarchic, rocker drawl. You feel more their themes of resilience because they assure there is an added emotional weight to their live vocals, which is a smart move. If you want to make your concert worth the ticket then it is always intelligent to make it different from the album. If anyone had blindly walked into their concert not knowing them or their music, I can promise he or she went to buy St. Mojo, of which you can to and learn more about Sweet Spirit Here.
