Amazing Acoustic Treat

I'm apologizing in advance...no video, no audio, just an article. The title makes you think we get a performance Now, on with the article....

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=90694

By Fran Katigbak
Inquirer
Last updated 11:09pm (Mla time) 09/25/2007

MANILA, Philippines--Elliot Yamin’s take on “Moody’s Mood for Love,” as a member of the Top 24 on “American Idol” Season 5, is arguably his most memorable performance on the reality talent search.

Yamin proceeded, week after week, to surprise AI judges and viewers with his ability to turn an obscure song into a contemporary, not to mention memorable, piece.

Thenceforth, hearing other versions of the songs Yamin performed on AI made it difficult not to make comparisons, usually in his favor.

Rare treat

But song choice was not the only factor that could push a finalist to AI’s Top 3. Reminding the contenders that vocals were just as important, judge Simon Cowell declared Yamin “potentially” the best male vocalist in the history of the show.

Local fans are currently being treated to this unique, soulful voice as Yamin makes the rounds of Ayala Malls nationwide. Fans come in hoards to watch him perform live.

It was probably a stroke of luck that two of his regular band members were unable to join him here.

At the show in Market! Market! at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig last Sunday, Yamin had in tow a small contingent—a keyboardist, a guitarist, and a percussionist who ditched the drums for a shaker and tambourine.

The result, however brief the program, was an amazing acoustic performance of tracks from the artist’s self-titled album. Yamin’s band may have been incomplete, but every number was fueled with so much intensity that the audience clearly didn’t care.

Even the stage, a stripped-down version of the “Idol” platform, seemed to punctuate the emotion in Yamin’s vocals in “I’m the Man,” “Train Wreck,” “A Song for You,” “One Word” and the Billboard chart-topper, “Wait for You.”

Sitting on a stool through most of the songs, the 29-year-old artist needed only to raise his arms once each time he wanted the audience to groove to the beat—such as in the inspiring “Free” and breakup song “Movin’ On”—and they enthusiastically complied.

New dimension

We agree with a friend’s critique that Yamin’s debut album sounded like “something we’ve heard before.” Even so, his live performance gave the songs a new dimension.

We forgot that we were in the crowd outside the heavily cordoned area for VIPs and special-pass holders. The Market! Market! show made us wish the small stage was bigger, and the mall’s activity center, a real concert venue.

Most people say acoustic shows are only for bars, cafés and small joints. Now we know for sure that it depends on who is performing. If it’s Elliot Yamin, we certainly disagree.