Jaymay Bowery Ballroom, New York Review on Kevchino

Jaymay
7 out of 10 - Enjoyable.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Bowery Ballroom, New York

Alone onstage with just a guitar, a keyboard, and a Guinness by her side Tuesday night Jaymay, the alias for Jamie Seerman, offered the Bowery Ballroom crowd a varied performance that ranged from heartfelt folk songs to whimsical musical adlibs. The crowd was drawn in quickly by the intimacy Jaymay brought to the microphone with her soulful voice and stripped down versions of new tracks off her album Autumn Fallin’.

The set list was well paced moving from Dylanesque New York folk to the jazz influenced “Lullaby” ala Bessie Smith and onto a lyrically improvised song from her forthcoming e.p. “10 under 2” (ten songs all under 2 minutes). Midway through the show she invited out Kevin Devine who joined her for a one of the show’s highlights, a beautiful version of “You are the Only One I Love”. The songs themselves were poetically worded stories of broken hearts and longing with a continued sense of hope that seems to linger throughout. Jaymay mixed it up with a refreshing looseness playfully singing about her broken microphone as she moved from the guitar to the keyboard and kept a very personal demeanor continually talking to the audience and telling stories.

The show was a rarity as Jaymay truly seemed to have fun onstage infusing the mood to the attentive audience leaving them feeling part of an experience. As the show came to a close she admitted to the crowd that she was concerned she wasn’t being serious enough for all the press in attendance, a funny concern after such a terrific performance. She ended the show with a sing-a-long stepping away from the microphone to the foot of the stage for the crowd favorite “Tragedy” leaving the room with a sense of wonder. Jaymay’s alluring personality and well-crafted songs seem destined for a larger stage- just one car commercial or sitcom soundtrack away from enormous popularity.

Tim Needles