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Amos Lee
May 8th 2009, The Culture Room
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Review by Gabriel Ferrer
Photos by Lauren Laufer
There are a ton of soulful crooners handling many guitars all over the world, but the thing that differentiates Amos Lee is his ability to make us pay attention. The 32-year-old Philadelphia native plays a blend of soul, folk, jazz and blues to accompany his expressive lyrics.
On a breezy Friday night at Culture Room, the crowd cheered wildly as Lee came onto the stage. They quickly became silent as he started strumming his acoustic guitar to the tune of "Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight." The silence was a sign of respect for Lee as an artist, but also a desire to hear what he has to say.
The fact that the show was at Culture Room, a small hole in the wall in Fort Lauderdale, was perfect. A larger venue wouldn’t have done justice to the simplicity of the music. The almost claustrophobic space transmitted an amazing sense of intimacy that provided a more enjoyable listening experience. At certain points, it felt as if you could hear Lee’s voice before it reached the amplifiers. Inevitably it was amplified, and it was something truly special. I had heard some of Lee’s music before the concert, but I didn’t appreciate his voice until I heard it live. This man can flat out sing.
The almost claustrophobic space transmitted an amazing sense of intimacy that provided a more enjoyable listening experience.
Amos Lee
He was accompanied by a bassist, a drummer and probably the most vibrant keyboardist I’ve ever seen. The keyboardist, Spooner Oldham, brought an enormous amount of energy to Lee’s more upbeat songs such as "Bottom of the Barrel" and "Supply and Demand," which had a slightly modified pace for the sake of mixing it up. It’s always nice to go to a concert and be able to hear a song in a rendition that is exclusive to a tour. It makes you feel like you were part of something that only the people that actually went to that tour had the chance to experience. He also played the popular "Sweet Pea," which was an instant crowd pleaser.
After a 14-song set and a standing ovation, Lee returned to the stage with what ended up being my favorite moment of the night. He came back alone with just his acoustic guitar and played "Black River," a song about finding things that help carry your cares away. It reminded me that music doesn’t have to be complicated to be good. Sometimes we get lost in all the noise from the extra instruments and forget about how sincere a simple song can be. He ended the show with a soothing version of "Arms of a Woman," which probably landed all the men in the crowd in the arms of their women by the end of the night.
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