Sam Shaber 08-28-14 (Live @ The Rock Shop)

By David Holland on September 2, 2014

As I had mentioned on my Twitter last Thursday (@IndMusicReview), although I was not feeling 100%, nothing would stop me from heading out to Brooklyn to catch my good friend Sam Shaber perform at The Rock Shop.

I am very glad that I did as everyone in attendance was treated to a great set which started off with You, the closing track from the 2011 debut album Head Case by The Happy Problem. This was always one of my favorite tracks from that album & Sam’s performance of it lived up to its flanger filled greatness.

Going in, I already knew I would hear my 2 favorite songs but that did not take away from my eagerness to hear it. The first of those favorites was Baby which I was excited to finally get to see done solo as I had missed it at her last show due to showing up late. Her flawless performance of the chorus just further cemented why I am so addicted to it!

Next up was a throwback to Sam’s solo folk music days as she played Honey. Sadly I did not know her back then but after hearing this song, I really wish I did as I am 100% confident I would have loved those shows!

Later on we were treated to a brand new song titled Harder Than Love. We were given no guarantees that we would ever hear it again but judging by what I & others heard, this song is definitely a keeper.

Next up we went old school again with a track from the unfortunately short lived band The Bashful as she played Harder Deeper Faster. I give her full props as I never imagined that such an in your face kick ass rock song could sound good coming from an acoustic guitar. However she definitely got the job done in the fantastic rendition.

Now it was time for my other favorite Seaweed which surprisingly to me was played on bass. This was another I admittedly was curious as to how it would sound done solo but her performance was spot on & definitely hit the spot for me.

The finale saw her play Prince Charming, a track from her current project The Good People Of Planet Earth whose self-titled debut EP just came out in June. This was my first time hearing material from the band live & I must say the song was enjoyable. While she warned us the song does not sound this way on the EP, I say that is a shame as her version was damn good to my ears!

Setlist: