Camp is back. 2 weeks ago I saw Adam Shenk light up the bored, mid-week, after-hours crowd at The Bitter End. A silky crooner best described as a broadway-modeled singer-songwriter for whom no time has passed since the ’90s, Adam Shenk is a singular man somehow possessing the courage to perform (and grind successfully to) Mariah Carey’s "All I want for Christmas".
Complete with suit and skinny tie, Adam Shenk would have looked at home sipping cosmos on a yacht with Peter Cetera and Kenny Loggins. There are a million reasons I could use to try and convince you that this shouldn’t work, but with Adam Shenk it most definitely does.
Brooklyn is full of musicians convincing audiences of the newly found fun of forgotten pop music trends. While this spirit certainly animates the anachronistic R&B and neo-soul sound of songs Suitcases and Taste, the sincerity of Adam’s incredibly enthusiastic delivery will make you think he came up with these styles himself…and through his own unique reinventions, he has. Check him out live when he plays The Bitter End again January 18 at 8:30pm. – Mike Levine