CUBE (oakland, ca)

Seeing Kate Earl live was something that was awesome for me and my fiancee to do. My fiancee has been a longtime fan of Kate, and I thought I'd give her a shot since I had the same birthday as her.

I'd heard my fiancee sing some of Kate's songs before and was sort of familiar with her music, but I was completely blown away by her in performance. Her vocals and lyrics alone in "One Woman Army" were so full of passion and honesty that the performance truthfully brought tears to my eyes. In a world filled with autotune and digital noise, it was a breath of fresh air to see Kate perform on a mostly bare stage, with her band behind her.

It was just Kate at the microphone, and that was all I needed to be hooked on her performance. Kate Earl exudes charisma and sincerity, and there's nothing flashy about her live performances or her music. They are simple and elegant. From her outfit--flowing black pants, a shawl, and a white top--to the lyrics in "All I Want," Kate is her music and her music is Kate. The audience understood this simple fact, swaying back and forth and cheering and clapping at the end of each song. The rawness of the performance and the rawness of the stage setup truly made this a visceral music experience, and one that my fiancee and I will not soon forget.