On this laid-back live outing,
Holly Golightly
sounds a little like a caffeinated
Kendra Smith
(
Opal
,
Rainy Day
). She eschews
psych-rock
in favor of
folk
blues
, and low-key
R&B
, but her insouciant delivery evokes a similar sort of casual, romantic world weariness -- not unlike the iconic character so enchantingly portrayed by
Audrey Hepburn
in
Breakfast at Tiffany
's. The performances are loose and appealing, with spare instrumental backing spiked by frequent blasts of harmonica. The
country
-tinged original
"If I Should Ever Leave"
features the welcome addition of slide guitar and violin. There are plenty of whoops and hollers during the more rocking numbers -- from the audience or from the band; it's hard to tell -- but they rarely overwhelm or distract from the music.
Up the Empire
may not be the best place to start with
Ms. Golightly
's oeuvre, but it isn't a bad place to end up -- especially if you'd like to re-create the experience of an intimate, neon-lit juke joint where all the kids meet to tap their toes, snap their fingers, and clap their hands to the slinky beat. ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy