Review: There is something about Carol Lipnik

Hey Kids , my latest review: Carol Lipnik at Pangea

There is something about Carol Lipnik…

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of stumbling into my favorite cabaret spot Pangea and witness the magic of Carol Lipnik. After a lovely dinner and Donna Summer fueled car ride with our friends Citizen Reno , Ellie Covan and the darling Oscar Pavlo, MAN-ee Champagne, myself and the gang settled into our seats with a big sigh.

That is the “thing” about Carol Lipnik, within seconds of her starting to sing she transports you from this physical plane into another state of consciousness with her ethereal voice. I gaze around the room and everyone is transfixed on her every move as she glides into “The Gypsy Wife” by Leonard Cohen. There is no pretense or over the top showmanship here – we are all on this journey together! What a revelation it is as she invites the audience to howl along with her to ‘The Werewolf Song”! And somehow with Carol’s guidance everyone seems on pitch…

Photo by Jeff Catlow

For years Carol has been supported, appreciated and lauded by the downtown cabaret scene. She has found her home at Pangea and is finally achieving the greater recognition she deserves with her first glowing New York Times review (Stephen Holden, NY Times, November 16). Sometimes the connection of time, space and talent brings everything together and creates this amazing artistic explosion. Carol is experiencing this explosion with grace and confidence as she seduces more and more new fans through original songs like “The Mermaid Blues” and “The Things that Make You Grow”.  She is backed by her long time accompanist, the brilliant Matt Kanelos who also penned my favorite song in Carol’s repertoire “Non-Violent Man”.

There are few artists that automatically make you feel like they are going to take care of you – not that you feel safe…on the contrary, the boundaries of your mind and heart are definitely challenged – but that you KNOW they will lead you on a fantastic journey, through dark and light. Committed and sincere, Carol is one of those artists and it’s rare and refreshing.

In the complexity of Carol’s voice are shades of Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell and Minnie Ripperton that make me swoon, especially in her gorgeous version of “Moon River” (in which Carol also demonstrates her skills as a musician by playing the Kazabo). And see that is another "thing" about Carol, not only a brilliant and rare musical talent, she is fun and has a great sense of humor about it all. In the end this is what makes her an artist that deserves the accolades and all the cheer. She is divine!

 

Kids if you want to forget your troubles for a couple of hours on a Sunday night make your way to Pangea to see Carol Lipnik, you’ll be glad you did and will regret it if you don’t! You can see Carol every Sunday at Pangea http://www.pangeanyc.com/

 See you at the party Kids!

 MargOH! Channing is The Boozy Chanteuse

PS- Kids Carol is nominated for two Broadway World Awards for the 2015 Cabaret Season so please go vote for her by December 31, 2015 http://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/vote2015region.cfm

MargOH!'s review of Tammy Faye's "Cabaret Marianne"

Hey Kids,

It's been forever! I need to get back to writing! I did some of my best writing on this here blog...

I had such a great time at a show I just had to say how I feel...lol! So here are my thoughts on this fabulous show I saw "Cabaret Marianne" by the wonderful Tammy Faye Starlite.

Tammy Faye Starlite’s Cabaret Marianne is as the kids say it today “Everything”

There is a new cabaret room in New York City and I love it. Pangea is a lovely intimate space with great food and drink. Hosted by Stephen Shanaghan and Arnoldo Caballero Cespedes, some are calling it the Carlyle of the East Village and a resurrection of the glory days of downtown backroom nightlife. I couldn’t agree more.

They have recently featured some of the best cabaret has to offer like Penny Arcade, Joseph Keckler, Joey Arias, Bridget Barkan, Dane Terry and Carol Lipnik, showcasing intimate and unique performances and collaborations that feel more like a gloriously hip party in the apartment of the coolest person you know.

Thursday nights in October have been all about Tammy Faye Starlite and her show Cabaret Marianne. Tammy Faye takes us on a journey through the life and career of Marianne Faithfull done with a devilishly fun flair. Two things that immediately jump out at you are that Tammy Faye has an amazing voice and total command of the stage. She takes control and puts the audience at ease allowing us to enjoy the ride with her. She is joined by a great group of musicians including Barry Reynolds who co-wrote songs with Faithfull like “Broken English” and ‘Why’d Ya Do It”. Each week she has a special guest and this past Thursday that was Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye, who joined Tammy Faye on a gorgeous version of Smith’s “Ghost Dance” (co-written by Kaye).

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the “other” Marianne Faithfull perform live. I wouldn’t categorize Tammy Faye’s show as an impersonation as much as a tribute to a life well and truly lived. She captures the hard edge of Ms. Faithfull as she talks about her sexual exploits, homeless drug days, the Beatles and the “Stones” man (her asides about Jagger and Richards are hilarious). She then rips into her aversion for her classic hit “As Tears Go By” which she refuses to sing opting for more obscure songs like “That Was the Day (The Coke Came to Nashville)”. I loved this because it is an insane idea to think Ms. Faithfull went country but she did with her album “Dreamin My Dreams”. Other highlights were a dark (and yet still not without comedic moments) “Sister Morphine” and a lovely version of fan favorite “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan”.

Tammy Faye with her slight British accent and vocal fry delivers the essence of Marianne Faithfull to us with wit, charm and eclectic writing that makes you cheer for more. Kids, do me and yourself a favor and rush over to Pangea and see Cabaret Marianne performed by the fabulously talented and stunning Tammy Faye Starlite.

Upcoming dates are  October 29 at 7:30PM For tickets and additional info go to http://www.pangeanyc.com/


See Ya at the Party Kids! MargOH! Channing

MargOH! Back Stage at BadAss Burlesque

Hey Kids,

Had to post this photo by my man Man-ee Champagne. It's amazing and It is just everything.
Back Stage at BadAss Burlesque

MargOH!s review of Amber Martin's Stoned Soul: Amber sings her Favorite Laura Nyro

MargOH! Is reviewing shows for Cabaret Hotline but due to some technical issues this review hasn't been posted yet but I wanted to share my thoughts on the fabulous Amber Martin. Here is my review of her show. I'd never seen one of Amber's full shows and she blew me away

 

 

Stoned Soul: Amber Martin Sings her Favorite Laura Nyro

Amber Martin is famous for creating hysterical characters like Brenda Snell and impersonations; her spot on Reba is a loving and hilarious tribute not to be missed. In her new show “Stoned Soul: Amber Martin Sings her Favorite Laura Nyro” you will find a showcase for her not so secret weapon, her monster of a voice.

As I stumbled into the nightclub 54 Below with my entourage there was Ms. Martin finishing her tech rehearsal. Fitting for the style of show we were about to experience.  Once the show started Amber sauntered on-stage in an elegant black satin evening gown, black gloves and rhinestone choker and her infamous tuft of curly blonde locks. I’m a gal who appreciates a little glamour and she was looking amazing as she blasted into “Save the Country” from Nyro’s “New York Tendaberry” album that was a hit for the 5^th Dimension. Amber then guided us through what she called the substance abuse portion of the show and cleverly gave us a history lesson as she displayed her own Nyro vinyl collection. This section included ‘Poverty Train” and the soulful “Eli’s Coming” that was deliciously peppered with shades of Dusty Springfield. As I said before Ms. Martin owns a monster of a voice with a range that blasted us through one of Nyro’s most well known songs “Stoned Soul Picnic” with ease and a sense of nostalgic whimsy. Prior to starting the song she directed us to open our “bibles” (i.e. a biography of Nyro) and explained that the word “surry” in the lyric of the song has no clear meaning and when questioned about it, Laura replied "Oh, it's just a nice word."

Sometimes when an artist tackles an icon or their idol’s songbook it can easily turn into a vanity project or sycophantic orgy but in Amber Martin’s skilled hands there was an honest and authentic vibe in the room. She allowed the audience to recognize and appreciate the off- beat style of Nyro’s work even pointing out that Laura seemed a bit “crazy”. Martin’s charming spirit and her keen ability to reverentially poke gentle fun at her idols is one of her most brilliant qualities as a performer and provided light fun to the often heaviness of Nyro’s lyrics. After singing “Woman’s Blues” Amber explained that she had sung 45 minutes of Joplin straight through and that was nothing compared to singing the songs of Nyro, given her propensity for frequent and unusual tempo shifts and other unique composition choices. Then she took a swig of inspiration, coughed and went straight into “And When I Die” which was my favorite of the evening, an absolutely brilliant interpretation of an amazing and gut wrenching song.

In this show Martin is backed by an outstanding team of musicians including Matt Ray on piano, Claudia Chopek on violin, her pal and cutie pie talent Nath Ann Carerra on guitar, Patrick Johnson on percussion and vocals and Dave LeBleu on drums.

This thoroughly entertaining evening was capped off with a spirited version of “Nowhere to Run” a song from the album “Gonna Take a Miracle” on which Nyro had collaborated on with Labelle. Joining her was backing vocalist Patrick Johnson and special guest Asa Lovechild, a beautifully ridiculous powerhouse of a singer that works and tours with Nona Hendryx, formerly of Labelle. According to Martin they had no rehearsal time but you would never have known that as we clapped and sang along. But then that’s the type of artist Amber Martin is - humble, authentic and a bottomless cocktail of fun.

Stoned Soul: Amber Martin Sings her Favorite Laura Nyro is playing one more show at 54 Below Sunday June 23 at 7PM. Get your tickets and enjoy an artist at the top of her game performing the songs she loves. You can’t pay enough to see that!!

 

I rate this show 4.5 martini’s out of 5

 

 By MargOH! Channing

We did it! MargOH! Sings the Booze Fundraiser

Hey Kids,


We made our goal for MargOH! Sings the Booze. I'm very excited about this new show and
now I have 20 Producers who have donated to make this a fun night. I'm rehearsing and getting
my stuff together for this show.

I'm so excited to have all of this support and love!

XOXO, MargOH!

Fundraiser for MargOH! Sings the Booze

Hey Kids,

MargOH! Has a new show coming up on May 11, 7:30PM at Dixon Place Lounge. The show is called

"MargOH! Sings the Booze". It's a fun romp with all new songs and lots of comedy to keep you laughing in your seat.  To

Producing these shows can get expensive so I started a kickstarter to find producers for this work shop performance. These funds will be to help pay for my fabulous trio and reahearsal space. I will also be able

to save a little for the full production coming down the road. Check it out and if you have a few extra bucks support live entertainment.

To help fund this show click here http://kck.st/XIwizz . There are all sorts of fun things you'll recieve when you donate. Kisses, MargOH!

MargOH! in Music Video

Hey Kids,

Had a fabulous week and shot a music video for the first time. The song is called "Good Bad Girl" by Angelina Jipse Roz. She is a fabulous and gorgeous singer songwriter from London. The song is fun pop, really love it. It was a very quick shoot on the streets of Williamsburg. Of course a couple of Church ladies in their sunday best stopped to watch and started dancing a bit. I also got a lot of cat calls from passerby's and rough trade. A day in the life of  MargOH! All in a days work kids...lol