Kristin Lagasse

There is just something magic in listening to live acoustic music in the warmth of a coffee house in winter, a cup of hot home-made soup and a salad of mixed greens in front of you. On a brisk Superbowl night, an assorment of regulars, friends, family, and fans gathered in the Bazaar Cafe to listen to some of the finest acoustic voices, pure and unadulterated, that feeds your soul and releases your mind, and all for free.

First up on the floor were Robin Galante and her partner Eric Pedersen. Robin had been writing songs and performing solo in coffee houses for several years in the Bay Area, and hosting open mics at the Bazaar. These open mics have become so popular that there are never any slots left for Robin herself! About a year ago she met Eric, had an instant connection, and they now perform as a duo. Eric has enriched Robin's songs exponentially with his intricate guitar work and rich, soulful harmonies. Robin's songs, which were first written as solo pieces, have been adapted beautifully by Eric, and gives each song with his contribution a completeness. Robin has not yet scored a record deal; she records her songs herself on her home computer, and at the moment can only offer a demo CD of these recordings. Since they haven't been mastered, the sound is not as rich as when these tunes are performed live.

Robin and Eric started their first set with a sad song that I think was called "Words." Robin's signature style is that of a balladier, with most of the songs played at a slower tempo. After a few more songs in the short opening set, including favorites "Worth It," "Overpaid" (one of my favorites), and "You And I," they gave up the floor to fresh Canadian resident Kristin Lagasse.

Kristin is living the life of a travelling minstrel, moving from place to place, writing stories in song of her observations and experiences along the way. She had been living in San Francisco until December, when she pulled up stakes and moved to Toronto. She has a newly minted CD out - For Those Who Still Believe in Unicorns, which contains beautifully-crafted songs mainly reflective of her life in San Francisco. For her first set, she played some songs from the CD, but also had an arsenal of new songs, some of which are on her myspace player. She didn't have her own guitar with her so she used either Robin's or Eric's (both guitars are made by Bluefield, by the way), depending on which one was more available at the time. Kristin then beckoned Robin up to harmonize with her on her song "Freedom Rings" (where Robin also appears on the CD version).

After reliquishing the guitar, she then joined Robin and Eric for some three-way harmonizing on Robin's song "Shadows," which can be heard on Robin's myspace player.

An appropriate song, since Kristin sat in shadow as Eric and Robin played under the lights. Eric and Robin then stayed up to play a second set of songs, including "Cadillac," a song that Robin wrote about her grandfather a few hours before performing at a house concert a few months back. Eric took the opportunity to capture the performance on a mini-camcorder set up on the table in front of them.

Kristin then took over the chair once more and sang a few more songs before closing the show, including "Stuck Here," a tune from her CD which I could really identify with and is my current favorite Kristin Lagasse song. But I am enjoying her tunes, most of which have that touch of irony , and a bit of rebellion which gives her songs some bite. Her vocal style and timbre is similar to that of Noe Venable, but Krisin's songs are not quite into Noe's Ecto territory yet.

The atmosphere was really lovely at this show. I felt that I was at a family gathering, with me, Kristin, her parents, Robin and Eric, and KC Turner, all sitting together at one table. The room was reasonably quiet, with everyone at the other tables actually listening to the music instead of talking.and the Bazaar baristas even waited, firing up the espresso machine only between song sets. Awesome, and so the Bazaar comes highly recommended as a place to hear live acoustic music at its best. - Nusi (San Francisco) Myspace Review