Concert Review: Sarah Blasko Sings To Wanting Love At Rockwood
I firmly believe that every artist write according to the lessons they have learned, and the ones they can never seem to figure out. We all have certain virtues that we never manage to pick up fully without life having to give us a recapping lesson. For Sarah Biasko, her musical lesson comes from realizing that wanting someone to love you does not mean he will….. or should.
Nearly all of Sarah Blasko songs at Rockwood made me kind of teary. The Aussie songstress was aware of this, which is why she tried to dry up the sadness of her piano ballads with wry humor. Yet, playing songs from her new record Depth of Field, I did not mind the sadder nature of her music because it was real. In this world, you would think wanting to love someone would move him or her to love you back. If love is what every person wants, then why do we refuse it from certain others? Maybe, it is because beggars are choosers, and though we all beg for love, Sarah Blasko sings for the times we are not chosen to give it.
“We Won’t Run”,”Never Let Me Go”, “Phantom”, and “Is My Baby Yours” (which is not about a stolen baby she laughed), rang the bells of every person who gave their heart to someone who said, ”I don’t want yours.” Being in the dim, redness of Rockwood’s lounge made the message pierce like a needle going through a pillow, which is exactly how Sarah’s voice feels. On one hand, her lyrics are masterfully nettled to rile your loneliness, but her voice is whimsically fluttered to accompany it. She has a vocality that that feels blurred; blessed with a higher register but misted by a light, internal rasp. In essence, she is the equivalent of a vocal cloud, which helps her voice pass through the crowd to deliver her emotions.
Sarah Blasko’s music hit me hard in its lightness. Though she had a guitar and a synthesizer, my favorites moments were when it was just her at the mic; moving her body and voice as if love’s rejection was invisibly holding her back. She raised her hands to her face as if to cover the many times she had presumed love had a return-receipt policy. Yet, it was a relatable, nuanced perspective that oddly attracted a crowd of couples who could celebrate that they begged for love, and someone chose them. For More Information On Sarah Blasko Click Here.
