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LIVE REVIEWS
Ari Hest
Tribeca Y
New York, NY
Contact: Katherine De Paul,
rmpdepaul@aol.com
Web: http://arihest.com
The Players: Ari Hest, vocals, guitar, piano;
Doug Yowell, drums; Thad Debrock, guitar,
Jonathan Maron, bass; Daniel Mintseris, piano;
Gerry Leonard, guitar; Rose Cousins, backup
vocals.
Username: ahest19@yahoo.com
Material: Singer-songwriter Ari Hest graced the
stage to promote his new release The Fire Plays.
Hest previewed songs from this release along
with other mainstays from his repertoire.
The springboard for Hest’s music is largely
acoustic but he ventures into elements of pop and
rock as well. Thematically, Hest deals mainly with
intra-psychic issues and diametrically opposing
desires. At times his material references pop
songs from the '70s in style and feel; specifically
Dan Folgelberg comes to mind; however, Hest
successfully builds a bridge from past to present
especially in “The Winter of Yes,” an uptempo ode
to a deliberate attitude change. “The Fire Plays,”
the title cut from the CD, starts out with a driving
keyboard motif setting up a dynamic rhythmic
vehicle which ultimately leads to its memorable
tag line chorus: “I play with fire, I play with fire, I
play with fire and the fire plays with me.”
Musicianship: Hest has a voice that is rich in tone
with a beautiful velvety quality. He doubles on
guitar and piano equally rendered with musicality.
His backup musicians are top shelf: Doug Yowell
on drums (one of the more sought after drummers
on the New York City club scene) is a great driving
Ari Hest: A fine craftsman possessing a voice that draws you in.
force behind the band’s arrangements. Gerry
Leonard (who also produced “The Fire Plays”
and has worked with artists like David Bowie and
Avril Lavigne) joins the band for several songs.
Performance: A compelling performer, Hest
appeared to be right at home on stage. Adept
at engaging the audience with his self-effacing
charm and commentary between songs he
provided a snapshot into his life experiences
while still maintaining the line between audience
and performer. He also lent insight into some of
his songwriting techniques.
There was a moment in the show where he
described what “life on the road” is like when a
more reduced band is needed. By taking to the
piano with Yowell on drums the crowd got a taste
of his stripped down live touring show. Midway
through the performance an audience member
was invited on stage to assist with background
vocals. Whether or not it was pre-planned, it was
effective.
Summary: Ari Hest creates an environment that
involves both audience and performer. He is a fine
craftsman and possesses a voice that draws you
in burrowing deeper and deeper into your soul as
the show progresses. He will continue touring in
support of The Fire Plays in the coming months.
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These artists have been reviewed by Music Connection. Each is a member of MC’s always-free AMP Social Space. To read the reviews, go to
http://musicconnection.com/amp. Music Connection does not charge a fee for reviews. To learn more, visit http://musicconnection.com and see Get Reviewed.
56 February 2013 www.musicconnection.com