The Light and Heavy with Zoe Lewis
Describing Zoe Lewis in concert is the same as writing down exactly how butterflies fly and fish swim and getting the mechanics of it just right. She flits about onstage, landing here and there on a light or heavy piece of subject matter and deals with them equally – an election result that makes her unhappy or how a man could encase a dandelion gone to fluff in a glass paperweight. To her, they are questions that make themselves understood in song lyrics and storytelling. She delights in everyday things with her British humor totally intact. She wryly discusses hot sauces, spices, and chiles encountered in Mexican food in song until we are weeping with laughter, our own experiences echoing off the walls of The Palm Cabaret and Bar.
Her guests this season for Zoe Lewis Souvenirs are Zoe Wood, the phenomenal classic guitarist, David Linares, percussionist, Stolie, and from PTown, Mass, where Zoe lives, Qya Cristál of The Divas. Each one adds a little something to the gentle zaniness.
Zoe’s souvenirs are kept safely in a tiny suitcase covered with city stickers showing where she has been. It contains the aforementioned glass paperweight, her mom’s beret from Paris, a spiral shell collected from under the sea, and more. With each object comes a song accompanied by piano, ukulele, or guitar, with photos projected onstage.
Zoe is nostalgic; even her clothes are reminiscent of another time, the thirties and forties. And earlier, when itinerant minstrels would go from place to place, untamed and untethered, offering a song in exchange for food and shelter, the show adapted for whatever crowd accumulated.
She is a circus act, balancing plates on sticks, offering magic tricks, all of it done to songs with an infectious smile and a deep love of what she does best – getting people to laugh, not taking anything too seriously except joy. She finds that everywhere and disperses that wherever she goes.
Zoe Lewis kickstarts childhood wonder without ever resorting to childish antics. Starting with a simple heartstring, she will pull gently but firmly until she has you in the palm of her hand, where she will tell a beguiling story to keep you spellbound and happy. Wherever Zoe is, so goes love. Don’t miss her last show at The Palm Cabaret on Monday, February 17, at 5 pm.
Tomorrow is Tribute Tuesday up the Cuale River at Rancho Santiago brought to you by El Rio BBQ Bar. It’s going to be a bigger party than usual, with a Keep the Faith fundraiser for local artisan Karen Lahm. Perros del Rio kick off the music at 1:30, followed two hours later by the Texas Embassy Blues Band from Nacho Daddy, then the Bon Jovi Tribute Show at 5:30. Go, eat some fine smoked ribs, drink some icy cold beer, dance, swim in the river, and support Karen, who needs our help.