It’s Sunday night. People gathered at the foot of the stage and on the upper deck to listen to Sarah Jaffe sing on her last show of the Centro-matic’s Northeast tour. Her set, thought short, didn’t lack power. Rather each note leaving the stage was redolent with meaningful inflection and nuance, particularly during “Clementine,” Jaffe’s current single receiving favorable attention from media and radio, and in “Nurture it,” a duet sung with Will Johnson of the Centro-matics.
All of the details–from the small crescendo following key lyrics, to the strident strumming and the guttural belly sung during refrains–created a layered performance that truly could not be repeated. Her ability to make each show memorable is what makes Jaffe great. There are hundreds of Youtube clips of her performances, many of them are of the same song. However, each rendition is different. Maybe the riffs are faster, her guitar strings looser but there’s always something to pull you in and to keep you singing along.
