Playhouse Rocks!

Seriously brilliant soulful rockin’
…and that’s all that remains of my original review.
I’m going to say that I’m deeply frustrated with my so-​called smartphone. Or was it a glitch in the Unilocal app?
I was sitting in the theatre, thoroughly enjoying my evening at Playhouse Rocks — so much so that I cranked out a great review at intermission.
My phone/​the Unilocal app said it was saved.
I was just going through some of my review drafts and saw this one here. :-/​
What the?
I apologize for not posting this sooner. I thought it had already been squared away.
Now I’m 2 months late. I can’t remember the brilliantly eloquent details that I jotted down in the moment.
Here’s my best stab at it:
The band was so vibrant and energetic. The singer was soulfully passionate in her performance!
I wish I’d hung onto my program to get the names right. This review is probably one of my worst articulated ones of all time. But, I just want to express that this concert in the Pasadena Playhouse was well worth my time.
Lesson learned — HANG ONTO THE PROGRAM just in case!

Love coming to the Pasadena Playhouse for cool events like this. This time is was like a rock concert inside a playhouse. I got there a bit late due to trying to find parking. Usually I can find street parking no problem but I had to circle around more than a few times before finding something a bit further away. So I missed the beginning. But from the description of the event, the lead singer, Mary Bridget Davies, was a Tony nominee and she’s playing old rock ballads with her band. Actually, most of the songs I didn’t recognize, some sounded familiar and the only one that was recent and I knew the words to was Rehab by Amy Winehouse. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great show. Man, that woman has a set of pipes on her and can really belt it out. And I loved all the solos from her band. Most notably was the horns section — trumpet and saxophone. I just think it’s such a hard instrument to play and they don’t often get recognized very often. There was one intermission, which was appreciated and what seemed like 2 encores. Haha. The first encore did bring out Bob Mothersbough of Devo as a special guest on guitar (yeah I had to google him). A few brave people also got up and danced in the front and mostly in the aisles which was also appreciated since I don’t want to see your back all night. Thanks again to Katie and Unilocal for the tickets.

All I have to say is «wow!» Mary Bridget Davies has some pipes on her. From the very first exhale she took I was an instant fan. Love that raspy soul in her voice that looked so efortless when she sang like she was just rocking out in her garage. She got straight to it. She came out and rocked the house leaving us wanting more. So glad I came across these tickets I had a great time. I would recommend the show to anyone all the songs were great whether you know them or not the band and her voice are amazing!

Mary Bridget Davies can sure sing and has such a great on-​stage presence. I wish I caught her as Janis Joplin.
Having gone to countless concerts, it was strange sitting down for a rock show. There were a few folks who did get down in front of stage and in the aisles. But you just don’t feel the energy much when everyone is sitting down, not necessarily bobbing their heads. Or maybe I’ve gone to too many punk and metal shows.
On the other hand, I understand most folks want to sit down and enjoy the show without people standing and blocking their view.
A lot of the songs were familiar, like Amy Winehouse «Rehab,» The Beatles «Don’t Let Me Down,» Joe Cocker «Feelin’ Alright,» Janis Joplin «Piece of My Heart.» Many others sounded familiar but I couldn’t place the song nor the artist. I’m woefully inept when it comes to music of the 60s.
I think «Rehab» got the biggest reception, maybe because the people around me were young (like 20s & 30s) so they were familiar with that song. And I thought it was genius to have the keyboardist sing John Lennon’s part in «Don’t Let Me Down.» It was a nice contrast to Davies power vocals and a nice surprise.
I’m generally not a fan of long solos (again, having been to countless concerts), plus it’s so hard to do really awesome solos that engage the crowd. I thought the show would have flowed better with fewer solos.
But really, you’re here to hear Mary Bridget Davies belt it out and boy can she! She is so personable and down to earth, and she’s from one of my favorite cities Cleveland!
Again, thank you Pasadena Playhouse, Unilocal,and Katie B for another entertaining night at the Playhouse!

Mary Bridget Davies has some PIPES! I’m sure Janis Joplin, herself, would be proud! Every song was soulful and powerful! She is an amazing singer, not just because she sounds like a legend — Mary Bridget Davies can definitely hold her own. Would LOVE to see her perform again.
The band was AWESOME! They sounded great and really rocked it out!
Thank you for a GREAT SHOW!

Thank you so much, Katie B., for making this event happen! I was lucky enough to score last minute tickets and brought my younger sister along. We were definitely the youngest people there (ages 24 and 20). We had never heard of Mary Bridget Davies before but I decided to go because I love jazz and blues. And boy, am I ever so glad that we went!
Mary Bridget Davies has such a strong and powerful voice, with such great control. She also has a great stage presence, with an easy ability to get the audience laughing and enjoying themselves. She just seems like someone who you’d want to hang out with. The band is awesome as well, and they all had several amazing solos throughout the show. One of my faves was the saxophone solos, mostly because I have a soft spot for the saxophone after playing it during middle school.
Throughout the show, Mary kept encouraging the audience to get up and dance in the aisles if we felt like it, since this is a concert despite its location in a theater. A few people did, but during the encore numbers, Mary had everyone stand up. I think it speaks to the kind of performer she is, a performer who really wants everyone to thoroughly have fun.
Can’t wait for more events like this! Thank you again, Katie B. and Pasadena Playhouse!

Mary Bridget Davies is Amazing!
While listening to her first song I started to regret why I didn’t see her show in 2013 with A Night with Janis Joplin.
Mary is simply a beautiful soul. From start to finish she got the crowd moving & wiggling away. She has some pipes that is for sure. She is a sexy fox by the way, Lovely Female.
Two hours of great music satisfied my soul. Even though there isn’t a dance section in the Pasadena Playhouse, Mary mentioned to head for the aisles and dance away.
Crowd was into it, I truly hope people catch this great rock show while it’s here.
The guest musician of the night was Mr. Bob Mothersbaugh of Devo. He rocked out on stage with already great band.
Big thank you to Katie B. in giving me the opportunity to see this show. As always I had excellent seats.

Best show I’ve seen in years.
Every song was a toe tapper or a heart breaker. Mary Bridget Davies has one of the strongest, most soulful voices I’ve ever heard. I’m amazed that she can push the limits of her voice like that for an entire show. It’s so powerful. It just cuts right through you. Can’t say enough at how terrific a vocal talent and performer she is. Normally, to be able to hit all the notes she did, would take being in a studio, and many «takes» to hit all the right notes, but Mary Bridget Davies hits ‘em every time, flawlessly.
The rest of the band was also tremendously talented. I did think Wayne Kramer, one of the guitar players wasn’t quite up to par with the rest of the band. All his solos were highly distorted and cacophonous. For one solo, I thought that was OK, but all his solos were like that. I kept waiting for him to really cut loose and make something happen, but he never did. I can tell that he can, he just won’t. I wish I had a picture of one of the band members frowning at him during one of his particularly esoteric solos.
In all fairness, I think most people enjoyed him, but based on who he is, I was expecting much more from him. He was cool and fun to watch though.
The show flowed very well. The first half was better in my opinion. The second half was good, but included a lot of long jams and solos… probably so Mary could rest her voice. The solos were mighty tasty though, so I didn’t mind at all… with the exception of what I mentioned in the previous paragraph.
The theater itself is great. TONS of legroom. I’m 6’1, and the guy next to me was 6’5″ and we both commented on how much leg room we had. The seats themselves are pretty worn out, as in the padding had pretty much gave up its «springing back» qualities a while ago. My friend changed seats with me because the springs in the seat were bothering her. To me, it just added to the charm. I hope they keep the seats the way they are. By the way, I was in seat 13, but in my row, N, there was no seat 13, just two seat number 12s, followed by seat 14. See pic.
The sound was perfect. Just loud enough to feel it, but not so loud that my ears were bleeding. I could actually hear normally and my ears weren’t ringing afterwards. The lighting was also just right, and it created the perfect mood and effect.
Parking. I parked two blocks away on the street for free. So much easier to find street parking in Pasadena than in LA. There are several $ 3 lots available If you don’t feel like walking more than a block.
What a great experience!!! Playhouse definitely ROCKS, and so do you Katie B., for this wonderful event!

I know this is like beating a dead horse but in a good way. Every one of these events at the Pasadena Playhouse that I’ve been to have been amazing. And tonight was no exception.
Playhouse Rocks was simply amazing. The music was fantastic and the solo guitar play was equally as fantastic. All the praises for Mary Bridget Davies is well deserved. This girl can flat out sing.
Tonight’s audience was enthusiastic to say the least. Throughout the night, a number of the brave silver haired folks stood up and rocked their bodies to the beat of music. You’re only as old as you feel.
I can’t say enough about the performance and the Pasadena Playhouse itself.
And most of all, thanks to Katie B. for hooking us up with tickets tonight. It was a great way to spend a friday night.
Rock on Pasadena!