Take a seat in the front row with...
David Ryan Harris
Mercury Lounge, NYC
December 13, 2004
Review by: Erica Futterman
“Ever wake up and feel like you were in the wrong shoes?” asked David Ryan Harris at his Mercury Lounge show on December 13, 2004 in New York City. “I’m playing like it’s my first show – the pedals feel like someone else’s pedals,” he commented before some inspiring words: “If we can make it through this together, we can make it through anything!”
Despite the self-proclaimed awkward situation, Harris played an hour-long set that showed off his voice and guitar skills. The set list was pulled mostly from Soulstice, Harris’ most recent release – a combination of pop vocals, catchy grooves and eighties-flavored sounds. Although he now considers LA his home and referred to it as such when introducing himself, an audience member didn’t let Harris forget his roots: “You’re from Atlanta!” shouted a male audience member, and Harris had no choice but to acknowledge the truth.
Harris’ wit also appeared during several song introductions in the dry humor many singer-songwriters have mastered to kill time while tuning their guitars: “I wrote this because some people can’t leave well enough alone…that’s why she’s my ex-wife,” he said before “Strong Enough.” And Harris prefaced “King for a Day” with, “I wrote this song when I drank heavily…on a regular basis…week before last.” Though his humor entertained the audience between songs, it was Harris’ smooth, soulful and effortless voice that captivated them during each number.
Many people discovered Harris when he toured with fellow Atlanta “native” John Mayer for the better part of 2004 as both an onstage musician and opening act and Harris both embraced this and poked fun at it during “Pretty Girl.” Lyrically, the song is a sappy love letter to a girl telling her she’s beautiful no matter what the mirror tells her. Harris broke up the romance a bit with a medley of popular love songs at the end including Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me,” Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On” (with a seamless transition from falsetto to bass) and Mayer’s “Your Body Is A Wonderland,” prompting the audience to burst into laughter.
Although some musicians and fans disapprove of covers during a performance saying it detracts from the amount of time given to an artist’s original material, such songs – when done well – can demonstrate an artist’s creativity and talent. Though he touched upon several songs in the “Pretty Girl” outro, Harris’ rendition of A-Ha’s “Take on Me” was the surprising cover success of the evening.
“When I flew up here, I was tired,” Harris said as he started the introduction. “As I was falling asleep, a song came on that I used to make fun of and it came to me in my dreams so I’m going to sing it. I typed the lyrics out – you guys laugh now, but just wait.” Much of the audience seemed to be in Harris’ situation of never having looked up the words and didn’t recognize the song until the chorus. At that point, knowing grins and amusement appeared on many faces and a few even started singing along. However the song was also unrecognizable because Harris slowed it down from an 80’s dance song to a slow, emotional ballad and made the cheesy hit an actually likeable song.
Perhaps the rainy New York City day was responsible for the off aspects of the evening’s show – the crowd seemed quite content standing at least three feet back from the stage in an already tiny performance space and Harris’ acknowledged his own clumsy moments. Even so, the audience was as responsive and receptive to the man on stage as he was to them: though Harris went on at 7:30, the room emptied as soon as he was done making it clear that, though currently unsigned, Harris already has the power to draw a crowd.