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Mercy Lounge — Grace 15 Years Later: Nashville's Jeremy Lister and Mikky Ekko Channel the Ghost of Jeff Buckley Last Friday night (August 21, 2009), Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jeremy Lister celebrated the 15 year anniversary of Jeff Buckley's release of Grace by performing the record in its entirety from start to finish. As many reading this review already know, Grace is a record filled with haunting metaphysical imagery and metaphors, and I think I speak for everyone in attendance at Mercy Lounge when I say that the performance was nothing short of transcendent. On-the-verge indie artist Mikky Ekko (whom ListenNashville compared to Buckley in a review earlier this year) performed the opening track "Mojo Pin." Ekko brilliantly set the tone of the entire set by not just nailing the vocals with ease, but also by delivering the kind of startlingly hypnotic performance that he is becoming known for. He remained on-stage throughout most of the set to sing harmonies with Lister and others when he wasn't handling the lead vocals. But it was Ekko's rendition of "Eternal Life" toward the end of the set that was simply life-changing. "Eternal Life" also showcased the abilities of drummer Jeremy Lutito (Erin McCarley, Disappointed by Candy, Brooke Waggoner, Butterfly Boucher), who has quickly become one of Nashville's most in-demand drummers. The entire band was flawless, but Lutito gets my vote for most valuable player. His playing was (and is) as in-the-pocket as it gets. Lister arrived on-stage for tracks two and three ("Grace" and "The Last Goodbye"), and although his solo career has remained stagnant with Warner Brothers, he was fired-up and as electric as ever—it was apparent to all that the night was going to be everything we'd hoped for. Lister channeled the spirit that Ekko conjured, and Buckley's ghost stalked the room. Lister's standout performance of the night was the popular "Hallelujah," which he performed with all the grace and beauty of Buckley's version. Also on the bill was B Young, an artist this writer first encountered a couple years ago singing on a side-stage at the Americana Folk Festival. B Young's vocal style at that time was clearly influenced by Buckley, and subsequent live performances were reviewed favorably by ListenNashville. It made sense to see him in the band, and he was appropriately handed the responsibility of singing the cathedral-esque "Corpus Christi Carol," which was angelic. We can only hope to see more from B Young, as he has proven himself to be a very talented singer-songwriter. So where do we go from here? These all-star musicians could easily take this gig on the road and make bank as a Buckley tribute band. It's unlikely, however, that we'll see another Buckley tribute show. Every musician in the band is extremely busy with their own careers and recording projects and some may not be interested in more shows. ListenNashville spoke briefly with Mikky Ekko after the show, and he joked, "I probably would not go to a Jeff Buckley tribute show myself ... I didn't even want to play this gig but I got drunk one night and said 'okay.'" Thank God for alcohol. What a fantastic performance of Grace. The Jeff Buckley tribute show will go down as one of the best shows of 2009 in Nashville. Stay tuned for more projects like this in the future from Lister, who mentioned at the end of the night that there may be more tribute shows to come. — Vincent Wynne
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