LIVE MUSIC REVIEW: Hotel Utah, SoMa, San Francisco

For those bemoaning the demise of live music in our city by the Bay, then I give you Hotel Utah and Heather Combs. It’s like a Whose Line is it Anyway of Singer/Songwriters; and it happens once a month at one of our favorite places; a place that refuses to buckle under to the shackles of gentrification; a bar that remains great in true dive bar tradition while others struggle to mere poser status or simply settle for ‘good enough’. It is, of course, Hotel Utah; a destination worth riding two graffiti drenched buses; sitting next to a man dressed in a purple felt pirate outfit with his Seeing Eye cat and the inevitable MUNY fare raid. Hotel Utah always gives you your bang for your buck. The employees bust their ass, the food and drinks are always good and the music is great and on one Thursday a month, even Hotel Utah outdoes itself with an amazing night of talent, music and rollicking good times, as Bay Area Singer/Songwriter, Heather Combs hosts a Singer/Songwriter in the Round event, which would rival the stages of any indie music event.

Our ears are all finely tuned to the tone of the female songstress’ who often grace the indie scene; voices steeped in too much emotion and not enough fire. They often sound eerily the same, one after the other marching by in a succession of cutesy personas, cultivated to be poster children for charming indie kitsch. Heather Combs is not that girl. She is a fierce female with a voice steeped in gravitas and the balls to say something beyond the confines of the commercial poster board. Very simply, Heather Combs rocks it hard.

Originally from Gainesville, Florida—the home of other such noted musicians (with balls), Tom Petty, Bo Diddley and the incomparable Gladys Horton, who founded the all-female vocal group The Marvelettes come to mind. With warmth and mastery, an incorrigible-iron laden humor and a fierce delivery style, Heather is an artist who stands on her own; an individual who delivers anthems of individuality, in her understated and mesmerizing way. You know that this Berklee School of Music alum has a very high standard and uncompromising taste, when it comes to Singer/Songwriters.

Here are a few of my faves who have shared a chair on her stage over the past year or so.

Mike Gibbons: I became aware of Mike a few of years ago at (the now closed) Rassellas Jazz Club, here in the Fillmore district. I remember it as being a pretty good night with pretty good music. However, over the past years, Gibbons has evolved; and that is an understatement of magnificent proportions. He has discovered and connected with his passion; a passion that begins and ends with a powerfully controlled deluge of emotion, stories, voice and song. Gibbons works a large canvas, lyrically and emotionally encompassing humor, sentiment, and thought provoking messages. His voice rises and falls with the grace and ease of one who has happily found his place, and he jovially invites us to come along. When we do, we feel every minute of his songs.

Jay Trainer: Laced with unrelenting effortless charisma, unassuming charm and honest Rock & Roll; Joe Cocker meets Led Zepp. Low down, gritty, authentic, this San Francisco Singer/Songwriter provides angst ridden notes, to a crowd that was delighted to receive them. It is rare to find a musician who can do raw emotion, without alienating an audience or bringing down a room, but Trainer is one such musician who was able to bring his listeners to an intimate place where even if you don’t exactly fit in anywhere else, you fit in here.

Elliot Randall: A Bay Area troubadour, with classic country chops coupled with Lyle Lovett alt flair and seventies sensibilities in the vein of Steely Dan or The Allman Brothers. Randall erases any doubt that Singer/Songwriters don’t know how to get down and jam out some serious tune age. With an air of honky tonk bravado, Randall mines that common ground between rock and country, borrowing attitudes from both, which blend into a ballsy blend of rocking’ country, stealing fans and hearts along the way.

Max Delaney: New England transplant and guitar God, Max Delaney is a staple in the Bay Area music scene, even backing Phil Lesh at a charity event some time ago. His sound is unparalleled, cutting through the room. It’s not so much a gig as a joyous jigsaw of party tunes.

Scott Mickelson: His Twitter profile reads; ‘Tom Waits meet Radiohead, Radiohead meet Tom Waits. Now play nice.’ It is a perfect moniker for this alt folk rocker, who had the audience enthralled from first note. He gives us music we can relate to, with no filler. A straight forward voice and instrumentation to match, the stories and music, seamlessly meld together, creating a lasting experience for listeners and lifelong fans in the audience.

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