Kamara Thomas and the Ghost Gamblers and Sophia Bastian at Rockwood Music Hall 1/18/13

Kamara Thomas and the Ghost Gamblers and Sophia Bastian

Rockwood Music Hall

January 18 , 2013

Last week, I was at Rockwood Music Hall to catch Sophia Bastian but as I’d often like to do, I stopped by a bit early to make sure that I’d have a decent spot to take a few photos – in my past experience, Friday nights after work are usually quite packed. Interestingly, on this night it was actually kind of empty and it struck me as being kind of unusual.

So when I walked in to Rockwood, I managed to catch about half of Kamara Thomas and the Ghost Gamblers’ set – well, a quarter of the band, really. And from what I had heard of their material, it reminded me quite a bit of 70s AM rock, complete with a gentle country twang at points. It wasn’t the most revolutionary thing I had ever heard in my life but I was impressed by her voice, which was quite lovely.

When Sophia Bastian got on stage, backed by her guitarist Gabriel, whom she joked was her archangel, I was surprised by two things: how tall she was – she stood at about 6 feel tall; and by how young she was – she struck me as being maybe 23 or 24 or so. But she was charming and amiable. I honestly wanted to like her much more, especially since she had a great voice. Yet, I didn’t find her material resonating as deeply as maybe it should have. For example, a song like “Juvenile Blues” which described a relationship with a younger boy, was something I couldn’t possibly associate with and certainly didn’t know. It’s been almost 14 since I’ve been able to legally be in a bar, and even at that, it was easier to get into bars illegally. Much like the set that preceded her, I didn’t hear anything particularly earth shaking but it wasn’t disappointing either – for me, I wasn’t as impressed as the audience was, and I think it’s because I’ve come across countless singers who have sounded the same. And sadly, I felt as though she may need to do more to set herself apart from a crowded field of singer/songwriters.

Kamara Thomas and the Ghost Gamblers