Last Monday, Todd Carey brought a taste of Chicago blues to Plymouth State. Just twenty-five, he has diverged from his Los Angeles-based band, Telepathy, and emerged as a commanding solo artist. According to the Sept. 1st edition of the Nashua Telegraph, Carey said, “At the end of our run, we started to get more focused on writing songs, and that became more of what I was into,” “Eventually, it ended up that Telepathy would play a set, then I would come out and play solo for a while, and then Telepathy would play another set. So my solo project literally grew out of the middle of the band.” In January of this year he released his latest album with Kufala Recordings, ‘Revolving World’.
Having ignited audiences for such legendary artists as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Black Crowes and Foreigner, Carey has already established himself as a captivating artist. Carey proved nothing less than an arresting presence on stage. His mixture of songs ranged from the organic to the intricately layered and his talent as a looping artist made for an eclectic performance.
Unafraid to experiment with material in front of an audience, Carey opened the show by freestyling a tribute song for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. As with each song he performed, Carey connected with the audience through vivid storytelling and emotive delivery. His showmanship continued later in the show when he made a flawless transition from acoustic to electric guitar.
In addition to his own material, Carey also performed a cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah.’ While not as poignant as the original or as overwhelming as Jeff Buckley’s cover, Carey did infuse the song with his own, blues-influenced style. It was, at the least, an interesting deviation. His unexpected cover of Bobby McFerrin’s ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ was a crowd pleaser. Carey put his talent with looping to use and sang a cappella.
Filled with beautiful transitions and varied sounds, Carey’s performance was engaging and attracted new listeners right until the close. To hear select songs from ‘Revolving World,’ visit www.myspace.com/toddcarey. His album and individual tracks can be purchased through kufala.com.
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