In Dark Blue-Eyed Blues the extraordinary Betty Buckley presents a collection of songs, old and new, meant to evoke the chanteuses she grew up listening to and loving. The eclectic selection includes show tunes like “This Nearly was Mine” from South Pacific and “Bird on the Wire” by Leonard Cohen, the common denominator from piece to piece, being perhaps that Ms. Buckley makes us feel as if we were listening to the songs for the very first time. During her first show the night of May 29th, she was in top form as she took hold of the stage at Joe’s Pub. Clearly happy to be there, and often visibly touched by the audience reaction, she went straight into Duke Ellington’s “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me”, which she delivered with tongue-in-cheek-ness and countless smiles.
Sharing stories in between songs, she also made sure we were aware of her talented band formed by Tony Marino (bass), Todd Isler (drums), Oz Noy (guitar) and pianist Christian Jacob who also worked on the terrific arrangements for all the songs. His take on Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose” (Ms. Buckley confessed that Piaf had been her absolute favorite) made for a breathy, seductive affair, with Ms. Buckley rightfully injecting the song with hopeful longing.
Always one to ignite a conversation she pointed out she would perform “Come to Me, Bend to Me” from Brigadoon because she thought men got all the best songs in musicals. Needless to say so her rendition was fantastic, and she should also get kudos for having me and my friend discuss her theory for hours after we left her show. One of the night’s highlights was definitely her story about playing an iris when she was a kid, and how this led to her singing “Blues in the Night” is just one of the many reasons why this show is a true must see.
She also sang “I Get a Kick Out of You”, “Sophisticated Lady” and Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”,which somehow she managed to make even more heartbreaking, but my absolute favorite moment was when she performed “Too Many Memories”, which she dedicated to the memory of her friend - and the song’s composer - Stephen Bruton. As she repeated the line “there’s too many memories for one heart to hold”, she made it clear that there was a whole universe of emotion behind each and every single word coming out of her mouth. As she sang “what makes you grow old is replacing hope with regret”, it felt as if she could see right through us. It’s uncommon to see a performer give so much of them onstage, and to let their audience feel like they’re being invited to visit their innermost dreams, fears and hopes. Ms. Buckley not only achieved that, she also left us craving more.
Read our interview with Betty Buckley here.
