Girl at the Rock Shows

There’s my comfort zone, and then there are shows like the one on Wednesday night at The Parkway Theater. My goal this year was to get out of my comfort zone. I wanted to go to more venues instead of just visiting the same ones night after night. I needed to see more acts that weren’t quite my usual cup of tea and experience music and other worlds that I may otherwise not dabble in. There’s my comfort zone, and then there was the Madeleine Peyroux show at The Parkway Theater on Wednesday night.

Denver, Colorado-based Jill Sobule was the one and only opening act of the night. She took the stage just a hair after 7:30 PM and wasted no time showing the sold-out audience her charm and talent. Jill kicked her set off with a song that laid out the state of things. It was part political, part hilarity, and all personality. Although I was at a sit-down show with an audience whose average age was decades above my own age, which can sometimes lead to a stuffy feeling show, Jill’s opening song helped ease my tension and helped me relate to a set that I felt would have been otherwise unrelatable. Her set continued with more charm and more relatable and hilarious words mixed with a passion for music and people who like music.

Although I definitely found myself latching onto Jill’s overall personality and the way it leaked into every song she performed and every time she spoke to the crowd, I would be remiss not to bring up this musician’s beauty. Everything she did was flawless and the way her voice stayed cool, calm, and collected throughout the majority of her quick opening set yet hit you like a ton of bricks with her words was something that left me speechless. With ten full length albums and a smattering of other releases out in the world, Jill is not stranger to the stage and you could feel that but, at the same time, you could clearly notice that she still felt the magic of being on a stage at the same time. Instead of being one of those older fuddy duddy performers who is clearly just going through the motions, Jill gave me more heart and fire than I see from some younger up and coming acts making her the perfect way to kick off the Wednesday night show.

That passion and fire didn’t end with Jill’s set. It continued into the set of headliner Madeleine Peyroux. A jazz-pop singer from Georgia, much like Jill, Madeleine Peyroux is no stranger to the stage. Her discography dating back to 1996 is vast, and her star power can not be understated. Being able to see such a name in such an intimate and beautiful theater was a dream come true for many people in attendance but, if I’m being honest, that dream come true was a bit lost on me… until she started performing. I didn’t know what to expect. I had gone into this show completely blind solely because I didn’t have anything else going on Wednesday night. I love the Parkway Theater and told myself I would get out of my comfort zone a bit more often this year. My expectation were basically none existent but I found myself captivated by Madeleine almost instantly.

Joined on stage by three exceptional musicians, Madeleine hopped into a set containing songs that made you smile, cry, laugh, and everything in-between. How she was able to not only emit emotion from the stage but also allow you to feel said emotions was a thing of beauty. This isn’t a new thing for me. I often write about the emotions that happen when watching live music but there was something slightly more magical about the way Madeleine did it. Maybe it was the setting, perhaps it was the ridiculously attentive audience (I swear that nobody moved a muscle as she played through her set only making noise between tracks to clap and cheer her on), regardless, I felt this odd connection with Madeleine within the first song and it never left.

Although Madeleine Peyroux is billed as a jazz musician, I feel like that description doesn’t quite do her justice. Sure, there were jazz elements throughout her set including my favorite thing about her- this slight crooner-esque tone to her voice here and there but, it was so much more than that. Some songs leaned into a more pop vein of things, while others had an almost folksy influence to them. The way that Madeleine wove all of these elements together to make a set that felt fresh, accessible, all the way staying full of heart was something to be envied and admired. Sure, there were no epic pig squeals or guttural howls like I had gotten on Tuesday night at The Ghost Inside show but I was okay with that. My ears needed a bit of a break and listening to Madeleine Peyroux perform was like getting a much needed peaceful vacation.

As mentioned, I was easily one of the youngest ones in the audience. My plethora of glittering piercings and colorful artwork on my skin definitely made me stand out like a sore thumb which, at first, made me super uncomfortable. I knew I was the odd one out at this show but, after just a couple of songs, Madeleine took a moment to address the audience. “Being at a live concert solves almost everything,” she explained to the audience. She kept going talking about how, if we all just spent a bit more time experiencing live music, we all may be a bit happier. It was this moment that I realized– my age didn’t matter. The piercings in my face meant nothing and, although people could see all of my tattoos, they didn’t really see them. It was in that moment that I realized, although miles away from a “normal show” for me, the sentiment behind the show and the emotions I felt were the same. 

I was at The Parkway Theater to witness and take in a beautiful night of live music. I was there to escape the real world if only for a couple of hours and I loved the fact that Madeleine Peyroux allowed me to do this in such a different yet stunning way.

Line Up:

Jill Sobule

Madeleine Peyroux

Venue: The Parkway Theater

Smell-O-Meter: The best popcorn in town (not kidding)

Average Age of the Crowd: 56

Crowd Surfers- 0

Mosh-ability- HA! out of 10

Amount of Alcohol Spilled on Me- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out Kids- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security- 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Jill Sobule – 0

Madeleine Peyroux – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score- 7.5 out of 10

Show on Deck- The Failsafe / Weekend Picnic / Shadow Lake / Death of Heron

Shameless Self Promotion- 

Join My Patreon Here!

Buy Me a Coffee (Seriously!)