Lights are dim and voices hushed. Hurried fans contain themselves on their ways to the tables for food and drink. Meiko tiptoes onto the stage, somehow going unnoticed in her green sequin dress, but it isn’t long before cheers and applause for the southern belle break the muted ambiance.
“I was trying to sneak up here and tune my guitar,” Meiko peeps. The audience laughs and she promptly introduces the first song, “Under My Bed.”
Tucked away in boisterous Times Square, The Iridium Jazz Club offers a refuge for music lovers. With its small, candlelit tables and warm, homey atmosphere, the club is fertile ground for the budding of something that often goes untapped during live performances: intimacy.
Meiko’s soft-spoken nature and her eagerness to please made for an endearing and humble setlist. As many artists do, Meiko sings mostly with her eyes closed, and when she’s reaching those high, high notes, she throws her head back in the same way as a Samoyed pup might do upon learning to howl for the first time. Her voice often fades to a whisper, which is all a part of Meiko’s ability to bring you in with little more than her guitar and innocent charm. Whether she’s singing about getting her heart broken by a video-poker-playing bum in “Good Looking Loser” or weaving a cover of TLC’s “No Scrubs” into “I Wonder,” Meiko isn’t just strumming her guitar, she’s tugging at your heartstrings, too.
The setlist was comprised of fourteen songs – among them were “Boys With Girlfriends,””Reasons To Love You,” and “Stuck On You”– with 2 audience requests for the encore –”You And Onions Make Me Cry” and “Real Real Sweet.” Meiko made it a point to say something about each song, cueing us in to her past, present, and even her future.
With her voice like honey, Meiko made the weakly lit jazz club just a little brighter and that much more intimate. She will be releasing a new record Dear You on October 14.
Article by: Alexa Tietjen
