Review and Pictures by Sheri Hastings
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In the first of two “Farewell” shows before Dilana leaves the USA to move to Holland, she invited guitarist Michael Martinsson, bassist Chris Roy and drummer Todd Wolf to play a semi-acoustic set to a sold-out house at the intimate C.A.P. (Complete Actors Place) Studios. Dilana sings every song with a raw, emotional power, that stems from her own personal struggles & experiences. She bares her heart and soul and conveys a brutal honesty that she is able to share with her audience in a “storyteller” atmosphere by sharing the inspiration for each song she wrote.
Dilana delivered a semi-acoustic set of mainly original songs from her last 3 albums, with a few covers thrown in that she makes her own. Especially notable is her very soulful version of The Beatles’ ‘Help‘ and The Police’s ‘Roxanne‘, which she sings in Reggae style that includes a little rap in the middle. Her version of Stevie Nicks’ ‘Landslide‘ is beautiful and is almost better than the original. In fact, watch out for her upcoming CD of cover songs coming soon.
A highlight of the show was her 3 year old daughter, River, joining her mom up on stage for a couple of songs: An original, ‘Rainbows in the Sky‘, and Harry Chapin’s ‘Cats in the Cradle‘. River seems to have inherited her mom’s passion & emotions and no doubt will be taking over a stage near you before you know it!
Dilana will be playing one final show here in the U.S. on Saturday, March 25th in Upland, CA at Grand Oak Live in a very intimate setting before she leaves for Holland with her family on the 26th (which, if you look at her current tour schedule, you’ll understand why). Even though it’s a bittersweet goodbye, she said she’d come back to see us at least once a year.
SET LIST:
DEAD FLOWER; FALLING APART; SOMEBODY ELSE; KISSED A BUTTERFLY; CATS IN THE CRADLE; HOLIDAY; MY DRUG; SUPERSOUL; DIRTY LITTLE SECRET; SILVER ASHES; LANDSLIDE; LIKE A STONE; WOMAN I AM; ROXANNE; TIME AFTER TIME; HELP.
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Opening the show for Dilana were Debby Holiday and Derek Day, each doing their own set, and then Derek sitting in with Debby on a few tunes. Debby is a force to behold with beautiful, fierce vocals. Derek is an up & coming singer/songwriter/guitar player that you need to watch out for. He and Debby together were an amazing combination of exquisite, soulful talent.
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