Written by: Lauriston Brewster
Photography by Richard Cook
July 11— We went to H-town’s indie music haven Fitzgerald’s (2706 White Oak). I intended to see Fitz and the Tantrums (a great show, by the way). However, we were absolutely smitten by the opening act: Ivy Levan.
Based out of California, this sensual femme-fatale, whose pastiche pulp style is slightly reminiscent of damsels of the ‘40s film-noir scene, shook the rafters with her sensual energy, rambunctious music and beautifully tart voice.
After a brief hiatus from the music scene, Ivy Levan took to the studio and got to work. From that came the release of her debut EP Introducing the Dame) earlier this year.
From what I saw that night, her band is a vaudevillian spectacle (A man donning a dominatrix mask? On the cello? Yes!). But then there’s the front-woman herself: she’s repentantly vivacious and alluringly writhes around stage like a King Cobra as she belts out lyrics with a superbly rich voice. She is ingenuously pulling cues from other vocal vixens before her: Beyonce, Christina Aguilera and the late Amy Winehouse.
With the theatricality of a seedy cabaret show combined with the front woman’s feisty pulp glamour and powerfully scrumptious voice, Ivy Levan and her crew make for one hell of an act.
BAYOU CURRENT 