Ami Saraiya

This girls music has been in my head ever since seeing her perform at the Empty Bottle. Ms Ami plays the accordion, and guitar. I looked up the Bottle website and decided after hearing a Pretenders cover....at least I think that is who she covered. I liked her voice and how she played the accordion, so off I go to see her. I think the main act that night was a band from France named Cocoon (I think). The way I sometimes research a band, I want to capture as much of the experience live. So, I'll go to the bands' myspace page or something, see a video for maybe a minute or so. I like accordion players. Each band or artist that I like that plays that instrument is a separate reason why I like the accordion sound. Pezzettino plays it differently from Ami Saraiya. A signature of hers is this sad bluesy swagger, a thread that is in a lot of her songs, like "Vegas Moon", "Up, Down, & Charmed", "Archaeologist". This feeling emits from how the songs sound, before the meaning of the words settle. At once you feel nostalgic for the black and white of your own childhood. Well...a nostalgia of some sort. And then the words settle into your mind, words that have been made welcome before the meaning was met. Without the lyrics to read it's just certain phrases that rise out and sink back. So I can't say, "This is what the song says". Her music is not entirely sad sounding. Her swagger is more dominant with songs like "Memphis Train", and "Intaha Ho Gayee". That last one was a Bollywood song. I so love it when an artist so weaves together cultures so vastly apart...but not really. We are all closer than we think. It was a real joy and a privilege to witness this local....I have to repeat this to myself, local artist.

Zig