Thanks For The Good, Thanks For The Show

This weekend felt absolutely insane, and, looking back on it, it was. Not only did I have my standard nightly concert, but my weekend was filled with the No Kings rally, a birthday party for my best friend’s son, and other various things that I had overcommitted to. By the time Sunday night rolled around, I was spent, but I had one last show to get through, and, no matter how tired I was or how behind on housework I felt I was, I was not going to miss this show. I knew it was going to be the perfect balance of calm and sass for me, and it was just what I needed to mentally prepare for another week.

Sunday night’s show was at the always-lovely Dakota. I seriously can not praise this place enough. Although it’s a jazz club with a bit of a reputation of being much more classy than the typical PBR-serving dive-bar styled venues that I frequent, I really can not get enough of spending my nights here. It’s warm, cozy, and inviting. With their candle-lit tables scattered throughout the room and the smell of the amazing food that comes out of this kitchen, the ambiance is real, and walking into the Dakota is like letting time slow down if only for a couple of hours. I know it sounds dramatic, and the same could be said about nearly all of the venues I go to, but there’s just something about walking into The Dakota. It’s my happy place, and I know I’m not alone in thinking that. Everything could be going wrong in your life, but as soon as you sit at The Dakota, everything feels right, and that was the kind of mood I was in on Sunday night.

Beyond the ambiance of the room is the ambiance that the performer brings to every stage that they perform on. My history with Davina and the Vagabonds runs deep. Truthfully, this band is one of the first bands I recall seeing live when I first moved to the big cities from Iowa. I know I’ve talked about it before so I promise I won’t dwell on it but Davina Sowers and her band was a guest in one of my first ever college courses at McNally Smith College of Music. I remember sitting in the auditorium, watching Davina pound away at the piano while she sang her heart out and thinking, “Wow, I’m going to be in the same scene as this powerful diva!” Davina felt out of grasp to me. Her beauty mixed with her talent made her feel almost larger-than-life and, although I still feel that way, I feel like every time I get to see her perform, I get a little bit closer to her just because her music and performance is so raw, powerful, vulnerable and real.

This was all in the spotlight as Davina and the Vagabonds took a completely packed Dakota Jazz Club on a journey through a mix of covers and originals, fun little bops, and sad heartbreak kind of songs. The set was all over the place but I knew, as the band kicked off with a few of my personal favorites, including “Pockets” and “Black Cloud” from the 2011 album ‘Black Cloud’ that this was going to be one of my favorite sets from this group. After playing those “hits”, the band went on to do a mix of covers and originals. The covers felt as diverse as the originals, with some that made you want to get up from your table and start dancing around, to others that moved you to tears with ease. Altough the mood in the room seemed to be ever-changing, one thing did not and that was the star power on stage and how it dazzled under the spotlights.

Stylistically, Davina and the Vagabonds’ sound is way out of left field compared to what I typically listen to, but I’m hooked. It’s bluesy and vintage. Hearing Davina sing is like hearing an old-school crooner on stage. Her vocals are clearly flawless and full of life, but they also have this slight grit behind them that seems to highlight the emotion put into every single word. Even during the covers that the band performed on Sunday night, you got the personality of Davina and the rest of her band thrown in there, making each recognizable cover feel like a Davina and the Vagabonds original in a way.

I promise that I’m not trying to make this weird or anything like that but I truly idolize Davina. Not only is her style absolutely flawless with an edgy but classic pin-up girl style, her piano skills absolutely jaw-dropping, but her attitude is something that I relate to. She’s snarky and not afraid to say what she’s thinking. She’s not afraid to egg on the audience and almost seemed to revel in the idea of a heckler behind her (although I’m not sure he was really heckling her or more just joking around). Long story short, I dream of the day I’m as cool as Davina Sowers is. Don’t get me wrong, Davina and her band are all business, all talent, but between songs, you can see that this isn’t just some buttoned-up kind of act. This group is full of people with real lives, real heartbreak, real feelings, real angst, and they aren’t afraid to lay it all out on the stage for all to see and feel.

Everything is going so fast these days. I feel like life is more crazy than usual and people are more on edge than ever. It’s honestly as frightening as it is exhausting to exist some days. We all need to find our spaces where we can escape it all and, for me, The Dakota is that place. If you are still looking for your place of solace, might I suggest a local venue… maybe even The Dakota?