I read on Friday that Mary Fahl was going to be at the Beehive on Saturday night. A is a huge October Project fan, and Mary was one of the lead singers, so I thought this would make a good date night with her. I'll be honest, I'm a big fan of both too, so I didn't need much convincing. We went, and I'm glad we did.
October Project was a band out of New York in the early nineties. They made dense, orchestral pop with two vocalists trading off, and Mary Fahl was the one with the voice that stopped you cold. Big, controlled, the kind of voice that fills a room without trying. The band put out two albums and then quietly fell apart. Mary has been doing solo work since, and that's what most of Saturday's set was.
The solo material holds up. It's in the same territory as the OP records, serious and melodic, and she sounds exactly like you'd want her to. But the highlight was when she pulled out the October Project songs. Hearing those live, in a small room, was something else entirely. Those songs were written to be felt at close range and that's exactly what happened.
The venue itself was part of what made the night. The Beehive is the kind of place where you sit on an actual loveseat, not a folding chair, and you can order a drink or food while the music is going. That was cool. A concert where you're comfortable is a concert where you can actually pay attention.
Recommended.
