Extraordinary Girl Jamie McDell Wins Hearts of the Young and Older

Celebrating the release of her third album, Extraordinary Girl, Jamie McDell kept everyone at The Tuning Fork happy…her older, younger fans, and her newer, older fans.

I’ve been to the Tuning Fork countless times now, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the front of the stage littered with young girls, sitting on the floor, waiting, phones in hand, for their favourite performer to take the stage.

Jamie McDell has changed her sound, travelling to Nashville to record Extraordinary Girl, in the process creating something more like alt.country…a rootsier, more adult sound than her previous incarnation as a pop/country artist being promoted as New Zealand’s Taylor Swift.

So, the audience was visibly split tonight between the usual Tuning Fork crowd of older fans of “authentic” music and the youngsters gathered on the floor in the front who probably wouldn’t know Patsy Cline from Patti Smith.

Tuning Fork regulars The Miltones started things off and I was curious to see how the young’uns would react.

They remained seated, much to Milly Tabac’s amusement, who commented that it felt like she was in front of a classroom, but they also seemed thrilled with what they witnessed. The musicians who comprise The Miltones are truly talented and their talent was definitely appreciated by everyone in the room. The young ones were particularly excited when Guy Harrison whipped out his trusty trumpet for a solo.

But when Jamie McDell and her band took the stage, all bodies, young and old, where standing.

Jamie began with Tori, a standout track on Extraordinary Girl and, yes, her young fans could be seen (and heard) singing along.

It seems that there’s really not that much difference between the songs that Jamie wrote earlier in her career and the new material. The difference was more about production and perception.

Jamie herself alluded to the situation when she introduced Wicked Man, a song from her 2015 album, Ask Me Anything, telling us that now she was going to play it with her band “the way it should have been recorded”.

For those who may not have heard McDell, or her new album, let me assure you that she has the goods…a beautiful, emotive voice and a keen ear for songwriting. Along with Tori, the darker A Liar Loves A Liar and the country waltz, Paint On The Sign were highlights.

As if to show off her bonifides, she performed a gorgeous version of Emmylou Harris’ Boulder To Birmingham with harmonies from bassist Cass Basil and keyboard player Nick Dow.

Her band is rounded out by long-time guitarist Tom Healy and Elemeno P drummer Scotty Pearson.

But it was Jamie McDell’s on-stage charm that really shone through. She even jumped into the audience during Lady In Waiting, leading the audience in a spontaneous line dance that everyone seemed more than happy to join in.

The set ended with a trio of her older tunes…Life In Sunshine, he “most commercial song” from her 2012 debut album, Six Strings And A Sailboat…then an encore of You’ll Never Take That Away and a solo acoustic version of Crash…all of which had the crowd, especially the youngsters, happily singing along.

Jamie McDell -Tuning Fork May 4 2018

Marty Duda

Click here to watch Jamie McDell’s 13th Floor Video Session

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Reuben Raj

Jamie McDell’s set list:

1. Tori
2. Dumb
3. A Liar Loves A Liar
4. All I Need
5. Paint On A Sign
6. Five Years From Now
7. Wicked Man
8. Extraordinary Girl
9. Boulder To Birmingham
10. Slow Dream Boat
11. Lady In Waiting
12. No Woman’s Land
13. Life In Sunshine
14. You’ll Never Take That Away
15. Crash