Jessica Lea Mayfield & T. Hardy Morris and the Hardknocks, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY 11/18/14 (SHOW REVIEW)

Jessica Lea Mayfield is like a little woodland sprite, all soft-spoken, tiny and fair-haired, until she sings. Her voice is rich and full-bodied, sometimes sultry and always a little sullen. At a recent performance at Brooklyn Bowl, she haunted the crowd with this voice, and though there weren’t many in attendance on a bitter cold Tuesday night, her captivated listeners could not tear their eyes from her for a minute. “What’s crappin’?” she posed to the crowd upon taking the stage. She’s cute and silly and a little awkward, but it’s all endearing, like a wide-eyed subject in a Keane painting who can also talk a little trash (and occasionally eats out of one, so she told us).

A killer opening performance from T. Hardy Morris and the Hardknocks was just right to set us up for Mayfield and her small band. Morris and his band will sneak up on you with their garage alt-country sound, raspy vocals and guitars. They may remind you a bit of Deer Tick, and they’ll undoubtedly make a great pair this New Year’s Eve when they return to the Bowl to open for them. T. Hardy welcomed Mayfield onto the stage during his set for a quick duet, and later on, they joined together again for an intimate version of John Prine’s “Paradise”.

Mayfield’s set was mostly the dark and heavy rock and roll off her latest record Make My Head Sing, though she did play a handful of old songs, including a few audience requests. Her fans huddled close to the stage, as the noise of the adjacent bowling alleys overflowed, disrupting the show more than a few times. Ultimately, she was a good sport, though, and pretended not to notice. During the encore, she unplugged and brought her acoustic guitar down into the crowd, and everyone gathered in a circle at her feet as she sang the much asked for “For Today”. Sadly, you could barely hear a note, even if you were right next to her. It was a nice idea, but the venue wasn’t suitable for such a quiet moment.

Nonetheless, sounds like “Standing in the Sun”, “Seein’ Starz”, “No Fun”, “Party Drugs” and “I Wanna Love You” sounded great, with Mayfield strumming on her electric guitar, accompanied by her husband Jesse Newport. The two even shared a kiss in the midst of playing. They’re sweet together, and seem smitten.

Mayfield made sure to include favorites like “Our Hearts Are Wrong” and “Blue Skies”, and had people dancing through most of her set. Her new sound, however, reigned supreme. A loud garage rock vibe with ominous tones and a lot of electric guitar is Mayfield’s current aesthetic and it suits her. It never takes away from her outright affection and appreciation towards her audience, though. She’s as warm as ever, even sharing drinks with a few folks up front (a brave combination of red wine mixed with beer, to be exact).

And once her encore was finished, she didn’t retreat backstage, but rather sat cross-legged on the floor amongst her fans and chatted with them like old friends, indulging their questions and sipping from each other’s cups.

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