Sarah Kinsley earns high honors at the independent in Sf
Story by : Jim Brown
Photography by: Emilie Brown
Sarah Kinsley - The Independent – San Francisco
Part of Music Fan Magazine’s mission is to identify all the new up and coming artists, give them some attention in our publication and help promote the new music being developed by bands of all shapes and sizes across the country. Well, I must admit we don’t always get to all the bands and recently had someone slip under the MFM radar, but I couldn’t be happier to share the Sarah Kinsley experience with you now.
Sarah Kinsley and her band made a recent stop by San Francisco’s very intimate and historical music hall, The Independent. The timing was good because Music Fan Magazine had only just learned about the Kinsley sound when my daughter brought her to my attention. When Emilie mentioned that she liked Sarah because of her unique lyrical styling and crafty musicianship, with a sprinkling of house beats, we just had to check her show out.
We arrived, yes...I took my daughter Emilie, but she agreed to cover all the photography duties, so it was an easy decision, and I was completely stunned by the sold-out crowd for an act I had not heard of before this night. Where did these people come from? Why do they know Sarah Kinsley and I don’t? They know all the words to songs I’ve never heard! How much of this music have I missed? That is always the most concerning...how long have we been outside the orbit of a particularly interesting artist and not even known it. I know this from past traumas, like the time I didn’t see Pink Floyd because the concert was on a Tuesday night, and I figured I’d see them next time. It never happened again. Lesson learned.
The ticket paying patrons were right, she is good! What we learned is that Sarah Kinsley is an highly trained classical pianist but found her first success at Columbia University with her school assignment to produce and record her own song, resulting in her single “Over+Under”. Fast forward a few years and she is standing in front of a sold-out crowd in a legendary venue.
What a venue. The 500 +/- capacity venue was perfectly suited for Sarah’s show. Cozy but not so crowded that you could not find your way back after a bathroom break. The acoustics? Perfect. I have always said that smaller venues are WAY better than arenas. It is just too bad that bands outgrow their ability to play intimate spaces after a while. Still, Sarah’s set took every bit of available real estate on the stage, including a dedicated spot of her keyboard. Something she would return to sometimes.
Sarah started her set with some polite introductions and immediately lit into some free form movements that mirrored Sarah’s emotional attachment to each song. Sarah had deep ties to each song. Playing “Realms”, she got the sold-out crowd moving in sync with her while the band supported every move she made. everyone was flowing together, pretty nice to see from the upper deck. It didn’t stop there, sliding immediately into “Karma”, a song that carries a haunting but sustained beat with Sarah’s vocals overlaid like a sweet honey drizzle. The crowd, and especially a few of the front row teenage ladies, were fully encapsulated into Sarah’s orbit of untarnished soundscape.
As the set drove deeper onto the dance floor, Sarah lit into “Last Time We Ever Meet Again” and “Cypress”, my soon to be favorite, I looked to my left and saw my daughter transformed by her music, her movement and the connection Sarah had made with the sold out Independent crowd. Everyone was in the groove. I snapped back to my original though...why haven’t I had her in my playlist before tonight?
Doesn't matter, we are here now.
Sarah spent some time on the keyboards while we all caught our breath, playing songs like “Starling”, wow...that is powerful. A slight entry with a key or two followed by high reaching octaves and a snare drum about halfway in. It makes better sense when you hear it, try it out. Nice job Sarah.
Sarah finished up with “The King” and “Oh No Darling” all in celebration of her album “ Escaper”, out now and available on her website. The crowd was still connected with her every word, which was confirmed by the extra-long merch line at the show's closing. It wrapped around the entire floor of The Independant, and that is kind of barometer you measure your set by I guess. You're not going to stand in line to buy something from someone or some band that didn’t make you feel good, right? I’m sure they sold out of medium tees and trinkets.
Great show all the way around. Excellent musicianship, emotion and heart felt appreciation for the fan base that showed up for Sarah Kinsley. I don’t think “This is the Last Time We Will Ever Meet Like this Again”, (Awesome Song from Escaper album), but if it is, then all Music fan Magazine has to say is thank you Sarah, thank you for being an honest and open artist that left it all on the stage at The Independent.
Music Fan Meters:
Smoke Meter: None. Not even a vape. The crowd seemed hip for some clove smokin but it never materialized.
Fight Meter: Ha Ha, yea no.
Sing Along Meter: Pretty good actually which is upsetting as discussed. Why do all these folks know these songs? The sold out crowd laid into it when appropriate and shut the hell up when it was required. Nice job Independent crowd!