Amy Raasch at The Federal Bar, 2-17-19 Concert Review

Amy Raasch performing "Girls Get Cold"

No question about it, this is a month of excellent shows at The Federal Bar. Last Sunday it was Chris Price and Permanent Green Light. Today’s concert featured sets by Amy Raasch and Evie Sands. Mimosa Music Series host Gary Calamar took the stage promptly at 11:30 a.m. to introduce Amy Raasch. “Good morning, everybody,” he said, and then immediately replied to himself, “Good morning, Gary.” The audience picked up on it, repeating “Good morning, Gary.” These shows have a delightfully loose, friendly vibe, and Gary is certainly instrumental in setting that tone. On one of the fliers for today’s concert, it indicated that it was a birthday show, and Gary mentioned that several people had come up to him, wishing him a happy birthday. He thanked the crowd, then informed them it wasn’t his birthday. It was Amy Raasch’s birthday. He then demonstrated how to pronounce Amy’s last name, saying it rhymes with gosh. “Oh my gosh, it’s Amy Raasch,” he said by way of introduction.

Amy then continued the joke: “Thank you, Gary, and happy birthday.” Her set focused on material from her most recent album, Girls Get Cold, which was released last February. She opened the show with a beautiful rendition of “Weight Of A Man,” which featured cello and viola. “How I miss the weight of a man to hold me down.” Amy played flute on this one. She then switched to guitar for “We Got A Thing.” David Poe, who produced the album, also joined her on guitar and provided backing vocals.  “Nothing will go wrong.” Three female backing vocalists then joined Amy for “The Saboteur,” a song that Amy introduced as the “soundtrack to your February horror movie.” David Poe began that one with some whistling, accompanied by some atmospheric work on keys. The last line of this song is “Aren’t you concerned with disappointing God?” Amy then immediately broke the spell by shouting “Happy Valentine’s Day,” getting a laugh from the crowd. By the way, the venue was packed. This concert series seems to be getting more popular. The audience laughed again at the main line of “Straight Boys,” “Why can’t I be friends with a straight boy?” Amy played flute on that delightful number. She switched to guitar again for “Girls Get Cold,” the album’s title track.

“Breathe My Breath” was perhaps the most unusual song of her set, beginning as it did with some heavy breathing by Amy and the backing vocalists, a sort of orchestrated, multi-part breath. This is a strange and kind of gorgeous song, with Amy back on flute. She followed that with “Kitty Decides,” on which she played a series of cat sounds. This is a silly and totally catchy pop song with a strong dance beat (money raised from this song goes to an animal rescue fund). Amy Raasch then wrapped up her set with “What The Sun Kisses,” a mellow, groovy, jazzy tune. Her set ended at 12:07 p.m.

Set List

1. Weight Of A Man
2. We Got A Thing
3. The Saboteur
4. Straight Boys
5. Girls Get Cold
6. Breathe My Breath
7. Kitty Decides
8. What The Sun Kisses

Here are a few photos from her set:

"Weight Of A Man"

"Weight Of A Man"

"We Got A Thing"

"The Saboteur"

"Straight Boys"

"Girls Get Cold"

"Breathe My Breath"

"Kitty Decides"

"Kitty Decides"

"What The Sun Kisses"

The Federal Bar is located at 5303 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, California.