Alina Simone rolled into the Triangle today straight off a plane from New York to play an early evening set at Duke Gardens. Supported by a guitarist and a drummer, Simone essentially played two sets without a break in-between.The first set was devoted to songs from her 2008 album Everyone is Crying Out To Me, Beware. Before starting the set, Simone warned the crowd that all the lyrics during the first half of the show would be in Russian. The album is devoted to the music of Russian songwriter and poet Yanka Dyagileva.
Though the crowd presumably could not understand the lyrics, Simone warned the crowd that the lyrics of "My Sadness is Luminous" were not safe for any Russian speaking kids in the crowd (check out the translation of the lyrics here).
The second half of the show was mostly comprised of Simone's original music including a songs from a forthcoming album that she said does not have a release date yet. One of the songs from the set is titled "Beautiful Machine." She performed the song live last month for WNYC and you can stream or download the interview/performances here.
Simone closed her set with an excellent cover of the Britney Spears song "Gimme More." She introduced the song by saying that she felt the need to spread the word about her fellow female singer/songwriters. I'll take Simone's version of the song over Spears' any day.
It was another fun night at Duke Gardens and Alina Simone definitely left me interested in digging into her her catalog. She has a phenomenal voice that I hope to hear a lot more of in the future.
Next week's show, on Wednesday, July 1, will feature the Dex Romweber Duo. Look for a ticket giveaway to go up on Friday.
[all photos by Kevin Norris]
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