For the Win

Sitting in Front of the Computer Pays Off

A few years ago, I was sitting in front of my computer, looking for local music listings or something.  I came across a piece on Redbankgreen.com, a hyperlocal around here, about a Nicole Atkins free in-store at Jack's Music Shoppe.  Monmouth County singer-songwriter, "rising star."  That piqued my interest; and, though I didn't make the performance, that one link got me started on exploring Nicole Atkins's work.

The first thing I came across was this performance on Letterman:



It's from her debut full-length with Columbia, Neptune City.  I thought the performance was great, and I snapped up her album along with her Bleeding Diamonds EP.  Both collections are excellent.  In addition to "The Way It Is," standout tracks on the album include "Maybe Tonight," "War Torn," "Neptune City," (which has a video that I really like) and "Brooklyn's On Fire!"  There are versions of "War Torn" and "Neptune City" on Bleeding Diamonds that I think do a better job of showcasing Atkins's voice than the neo-noir album versions.



Atkins also put out a covers EP, Nicole Atkins Digs Other People's Songs, in 2008.  I have a well-documented love of covers, and the EP includes a great one of The Church's "Under the Milky Way."

Early in 2011, Atkins released her follow-up to Neptune City, this time on Razor and Tie, Mondo Amore.  Gone were many of the swelling strings and other embellishments of her major-label effort.  The breakups chronicled on the album -- personal and professional -- produced a more varied, and I think even better, record than Neptune City.  With tracks like "Cry, Cry, Cry" and "My Baby Don't Lie," Atkins started to move away from the torchy personality cultivated on the earlier album.



All this is meant to be a lead-in to the fact that, after many failed attempts to catch a full Nicole Atkins show (I've seen some short, solo performances and another Jack's in-store.  CoolDaughter #1 still has the autographed, white, cardboard top from her Langosta Lounge brunch show leftovers.), I won tickets to her upcoming Stone Pony appearance on August 4th.  I was sitting in front of the computer.  I, again, just happened to notice something -- in this case, a tweet from @NicoleAtkins saying that the first reply would be the winner -- that turned into something pretty cool.

If you're local, maybe CoolMom and I will see you there.  We can enjoy a beverage together and some really good, locally-grown music.