-Allison Brown emotionally singing at Taloola cafe

After a stressful week I was excited to wind down, drink some coffee and listen to some live music. It didn’t take much to convince my coffee-obsessed friend to join me on this night adventure. We heard from a friend that they make the best Vietnamese iced coffee, so we had high expectations. Once we walked in and passed the vintage red chairs, we ordered our ice coffee and tried to find a seat. We ran into some difficulties when we realized there were no seats available. There was no way we were taking our coffees on the go, I needed to see tonight’s performance. So we squeezed ourselves in the back and sat on flimsy foldable chairs. It was rather “cozy” not only because we were 2 inches away from other people, but because a  warm heater was directly behind us. Nonetheless I liked the vibe of the place, the ceiling was an orange hue, and the lights were dimmed to a hazy yellow. It was comfortable and the brick wall was covered in antique style pictures, maps, mirrors and statues. It felt like a home rather than a coffee shop which made the live performance much more enjoyable to watch.

Luckily enough a table opened up and we quickly left our toasty seats for a front row view. Allison Brown was up on the small stage placed in the corner of the cafe. She conducted a mini sound check by strumming on her guitar and speaking into a microphone to check the sound. The abrupt sound did not stop the crowd from having their own conversations. Once Allison’s powerful voice filled the small room many tuned in to listen. It was a stripped down raw acoustic performance which is something I always appreciate. Her voice was filled with emotion and she took her time singing out each and every note. Not only could you hear the emotion through her voice, but you were able to feel it by looking at her face. With every long note she carried she closed her eyes and focused on her singing. She was in her own little world that she created temporarily with herself and her guitar. It created an intimate experience and being so close to her allowed me to focus solely on her without any distractions.  

While she was performing she was in her world; however, in between her songs she was engaged with the audience. She wasn’t afraid to crack some jokes just before covering Kevin Quain’s “Mr.Valentine’s dead,” saying “this is one of my favourite song sing on Valentine’s day… and on Halloween. I guess that says something about my love life.” Let’s just say she was glad Valentine’s day was over, and made many references throughout her gig about her “post Valentine celebration.” Single folks and even couples chuckled creating a light hearted atmosphere.

Near the end she played one of her original songs “Scavengers” from her 2015 album Stitches and Incisions. This folksy song allowed her to showcase her vocal range quite well. She was able to hit high notes so effortlessly without any traits of strain in her voice. Listening to Allison allowed me to be emerged in her music. Her soft and angelic like voice put me in a reflective state, and made me tune out my stressful thoughts and overworking mind. I could finally relax and focus on enjoying the music, and my perfectly balanced sweet and bitter coffee.

Even if Allison made a mistake you wouldn’t notice, she confessed after finishing her song “ I totally forgot the lyrics in the middle so for a while I was singing ‘blah, blah, blah.’” A woman who sat next to me responded back saying “with a voice like yours you don’t notice a blah, blah,blah in there.” With 20 years of performance experience she was an expertise at captivating her audience.