‘You can get closer!’
Cornelia Murr gave a spare and intimate performance at DC9 on Thursday, November 1st, and the main takeaway for us in the small crowd is: she’s good!
Cornelia opened for Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread, on the first night of their tour, and gave the fascinated crowd six songs to contemplate. She’s touring for her first album, Lake Tear of the Clouds. She was born in London, and lived in New York for a time before moving to her current locale, Los Angeles. The album’s theme comes from the wispy beauty of the Hudson Valley in upper New York State.
The first song, “Different This Time”, came as she stood alone on the DC9 stage, remarking that she doesn’t usually play solo, poised before only a keyboard (which she set to play a backing track for the first few songs) while she sang each dreamy pop ballad earnestly, maybe with a fraction of trepidation.
Next came the dreamy pop ditty “Man On My Mind”, where her ethereal voice flowed beautifully over the simple beat, giving us a lyrical poem about how the heart doesn’t always get what it wants.
She encouraged the crowd to move closer, the first row had hung back from the stage, maybe with their own trepidation not to disturb the pleasant vibe of the club. Everyone, feeling inspired, moved up a few steps.
For the fifth song, she declared ‘enough!’ with the keyboard, and hoisted the guitar that had waited dutifully behind her, needing a moment to tune it, before singing “Billions”, a slow, luminous tune of missed opportunities.
Cornelia ended with a ‘Yep, this is the last song!’, and performed “You Got Me”, leaving the DC9 crowd wanting more.
Give Lake Tear of the Clouds a listen, it will do you good.
Setlist
Different This Time
Man On My Mind
Tokyo Kyoto
Cicada
Billions
You Got Me
A DC Journey 