Fans gathered at the Kendall Café for the Asian-American Songwriter Showcase a week ago Thursday could be forgiven if they detected a Lilith Fair vibe in the line-up. In contrast with the first such showcase (held last year at New York’s Bitter End), which featured Boston-based Kevin So, this year’s line-up was all-female and even had a Lilith alum: headliner Emm Gryner.
Annie Lin, a Houston-based folksinger whose breathy vocals recall Juliana Hatfield, elaborated on the event’s showcasing-Asian-Americans theme following an enthusiastic set: "It’s important that fans see Asian-Americans in the forefront of a band as opposed to playing bass or keyboards." Lin addressed her heritage on "Photographic Memories," a meditation on how Miss Saigon’s "Kim" would have benefitted from increased personal strength. "One Candle" seemed to draw from the same well of payback Liz Phair has so often dipped into.
Jenny Choi and the Third Shift, a loungy Chicago four-piece, followed with a set that alternated between ambiance and jazzy moodiness; "August 1st" combined expressive piano, soaring vocals, and even an element of scat phrasing. Choi admitted to being impressed by the crowd’s attentiveness — "They were very focused, especially for a bar" — and its diversity, explaining that the attendees at the previous year’s showcase were approximately 40 percent non-Asian-American as opposed to an estimated 70 percent at the Kendall.
By the time Gryner took the stage, the room was comfortably crowded — no doubt the result of the two previous residencies she’s done at the club. Dressed in hip-club-kid attire of black hooded sweatshirt and chain wallet, her black hair streaked with red, she laughed while pointing out that she’s actually "Asian-Canadian." She moved with ease from piano to electric bass to acoustic guitar; she drew from her recent covers collection, Girl Versions (Dead Daisy), with a terrific rendering of Nick Cave’s "Straight to You" but was equally impressive with a new song of her own, the redemptive "Blue Year, New Year." With its allusion to the "Amerasian blues," the Clash’s "Straight to Hell" made a fitting encore, and Gryner’s stark piano delivery gave the song a understated glow.
