Charlotte Martin doesn’t want to be compared to Jewel. She doesn’t want to be likened to anyone else, either: she says that such comparisons are a “lazy way to explain music.” Listening to Martin sing, however, one feels compelled to make comparisons. One could describe her as Fiona Apple raised an octave and with a degree in opera; Vanessa Carlton with fifty more IQ points, an entire shaker of salt, and a whole host of scars; Tori Amos ten years ago with more of a twinkle in her eye.
Yet Martin is also right when she says that music reporters who explain music through other music are missing something important. She has all of those singers in her, but she is not any of them. In the end, playing to a small but enthusiastic crowd in the Chapel last Friday, she really didn’t sound like anyone else but Charlotte Martin.
Martin’s performance was brought about by the Student Events Collective, a WSA group whose main focus is organizing student band events on campus. However, when Lena Shichijo ’09 joined the Collective this year, she presented the idea of bringing one of her favorite artists to campus.
“I’ve been a fan of Charlotte for a couple of years, so I’d intended to invite her to campus before the school year had even started,” Shichijo said in an e-mail. “I thought a performance on campus would be a good way both to support Charlotte by providing her with a new audience and to give people an opportunity to see her perform and hear her music.”
A crowd of about 60 turned out for the $2 show—a turnout that was “actually better than I expected,” Shichijo said.
“I’m the type of person who really hates woman singers, but her music transcends those stereotypes,” said Alicia Lutes, who drove up from Drew University in New Jersey for the show. “You can connect on an emotional level. It’s less about what everyone else is doing in a way… there’s plenty of girls who play piano… but she’s constantly trying to beat her last performance.”
Lutes proudly displayed a tattoo on her neck that read “One Girl Army,” the name of Martin’s much-touted but ultimately shelved first album.
The performance proved worthy of the long drive. Despite battling a cold that required her to drink tea continually on stage, Martin sang her way through a diverse array of songs from her extensive library, caressing the slower and softer ballads and attacking the more up-tempo pieces with the same steady, intense fire. The second portion of the show even featured an acoustic cover of a song by techno-duo The Postal Service, thrilling many audience members. Martin’s intensity radiated from the stage, aided by her ability to play completely from memory. She kept steady eye contact with the audience throughout, despite impassioned piano playing and occasional use of stiletto heel to stomp the Chapel floor for emphasis.
Spectators were not simply treated to a recital, however: the show was interactive and quite intimate, with Martin stopping for interludes of chatting that were often funny and thoughtful. When her illness took center stage after a long bout of throat clearing, Martin declared, “Jesus cares about phlegm! I can say that, I’m in a chapel!” She proceeded to perform an elaborate one-woman skit about getting sick at a show the night before that included running into the audience and lying down in front of the piano.
“I’m thrilled the Wesleyan audience was able to get a glimpse of Charlotte’s fun and engaging personality, because that’s part of what makes her performances so captivating,” Shichijo said.
After the show, Martin remained in the Chapel complex to give each and every fan a hug, an autograph, or a picture, often stopping to have personal conversations or to crack a joke. The festive and friendly atmosphere set by the concert spilled over into these post-show encounters.
“The quality of her voice, it was like she invited us into the space of her voice,” said Melanie Cherng ’08. “If her voice was a house, she had her doors open and it was like we walked into one of the rooms.”
Katie Johns ’09 agreed that Ms. Martin’s voice was “gorgeous,” while JJ DelSerra ’08 called it “organic.”
“It felt alive, it was very improvisational,” he said. “I didn’t feel like it was mass produced or mechanical.”
Perhaps that is the best way to describe Martin’s music, rather than reaching for endless comparisons and combinations. Her music is one that is endlessly changing. Alternating tinkling and quiet with throaty and passionate, Martin was always effortlessly alive and intricately artful.
Leave a Reply