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best of diversions
Nikka
Costa reveals herself to Anaheim
By Joe Licavoli
On-line Forty-Niner
The energetic and
spunky Nikka Costa and the slinky and smooth Mystic showed
the House of Blues in Anaheim last Sunday that they are two
very talented women that can command an audience without skimpy
clothing.
I only caught a
few songs from Mystic's set, but what I did see was filled
with emotional vocals and upbeat energy.
The young and beautiful
singer was reminiscent of a cross between Lauren Hill and
Alicia Keys. Her stage presence and connection with the crowd
was amazing, which was surprising for an opening act.
Mystic hyped the
crowd up to an energetic mood for the star of the night, Nikka
Costa.
The red-haired
singer and songwriter's set was filled with heart-pounding
energy and passionate vocals. The stage show was excellent
with Costa and her high-energy band creating a positive and
upbeat vibe that had the crowd clapping their hands and singing
along.
Every person in
the fully capacitated House of Blues was nodding his or her
head to the uplifting music.
The highlight of
the set was the single "Like A Feather." The funky hit was
played with so much power, it was difficult to understand
why the song never really took off.
Costa is not just
an excellent performer and melodic vocalist, but also a skillful
guitarist.
One of the standout
songs she played that featured her guitar skills was from
the Ted Demme film, "Blow." The soulful and mysterious track
"Push and Pull" was played with great intensity and showed
off Costa's wide vocal and musical range.
Costa confronted
the audience with the question that has been thrust at her
since she first entered the music industry: Who are you?
This question comes
up quite often for the singer because of her unique blend
of rock, blues, jazz, funk, pop and neo-soul. Costa showed
that aside from all the various genres, she creates lively
and inspirational music, which can only be described as Nikka
Costa.
Costa closed her
energetic set with a one-song anchor after five minutes of
shouting from the crowd.
This article
originally ran on January 31, 2002.
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