Introducing...Butterscotch - Review

Butterscotch (Antoinette Clinton) has got skills - there’s no arguing that. She has a good voice, great chops on the piano and it’s easy to see why she has won numerous awards and titles for her amazing beatboxing.

She can mix these talents in many creative ways - an early highlight of her performance last night (Sat Jun 13) was her rendition of Rodgers & Hart’s “My Funny Valentine” where she sat at the piano accompanying herself while vocally she combined a sultry delivery of the melody with a chilled beatbox groove.

However when Butterscotch’s 4 piece band and backing vocalist/mc were added to the mix, it seemed as though she resorted to playing it safe and ‘jamming with the guys’. The sound mix in the Dunstan Playhouse didn’t help - much of the clarity of her vocals and lyrics were lost in the wash of sound from the band.

Much of the set was made up of Butterscotch’s original compostions. While they were pleasant to listen to, the long-form jam nature of the songs didn’t fit well within the cabaret context. The show lacked direction and Butterscotch struggled to connect with an audience who were already being more generous than the performance deserved.

When Butterscotch asked 15 minutes into the show if the audience “were enjoying themselves” and were they “feeling it” it seemed clear to me that she knew the theatre design of the Playhouse venue was not doing her any favours.

It would have also been good to hear her apply her talents to some more familiar repertoire. Butterscotch’s influences include Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston, Erykah Badu. I’d have enjoyed listening to her fresh take on some tunes that I recognised.

She noted the diversity in the racial/cultural make up of the audience and true, her appearance in this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival probably attracted audience from the local hip hop community who may not have come otherwise - but they didn’t get to see a performance that could be called cabaret by any stretch of my imagination.

After a less than memorable hour-long set Butterscotch finished her show with two songs that reminded us of her strongest and most unique skills. Firstly an extended demonstration of her considerable beatboxing talents. The range of sounds she can create vocally is remarkable. As an encore, she finished with an untitled composition that showcased her piano agility with a piece that resembled a Chopin Nocturne, with a contrasting beatboxing pattern that gave it a very modern edge.

I’d gladly see Butterscotch perform live again. I’ve listened to tracks on her myspace page and I enjoy her songs, but I think she would have been better suited to a performance in the Cabaret Festival’s late night Piano Bar. The atmosphere would have better suited the band’s “club vibe” and the chance to get up and groove to the tunes would have justified the otherwise indulgent length of many of them.

Matthew Carey

Comments

[anonymous]

It is a shame when the show doesn't reach its full potential, especially when it was meant to introduce cabaret to the younger audience. By the sounds of it, it wasn't a good representation of the art form. I can see her playing a gig at live venues like the Gov and the crowd really enjoying it, though. I wonder if cabaret suits her style at all?