BWW Reviews: Mary Lambert Makes People Feel in Live Concert

Like most people, I first discovered Mary Lambert because of the chorus hook that she wrote and sang for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis single "Same Love." Since then, Mary Lambert has gone on to release two digital EPs and a handful of singles, growing her stardom and garnering success. Now the 25-year-old poet and singer-songwriter is promoting her upcoming full length album, HEART ON MY SLEEVE. Seeing her perform live, I have no doubt that her career will be long and full of milestone accomplishments and successes.

Last Saturday night, I didn't enter SubCultre as a fan of Mary Lambert. I entered that wonderfully intimate venue as someone who enjoyed her voice and appreciated what she stands for. Like all the fans around me, I clapped when she took the stage in a gorgeous red evening dress and sat behind a hypnotically beautiful black Steinway & Sons grand piano, so perfectly polished that the surface existed as a mirror under the stage lights. As she bantered with the audience, sang with undeniable soul and passion, and played the piano with dexterous precision, I became a fan of Mary Lambert. I laughed at her stories, delighted in her transparency and honesty, and was moved by her astounding vocals and perfectly poetic lyrics.

During her concert, she joyfully referred to her set as a "sneak peekery" of her upcoming album. She opened the set the tender and evocative "When You Sleep." Instantly, I found the artistry of her lyrics deeply gratifying and wholly satiating. In this song, and all of her others, her words pristinely convey emotions with a tangible sincerity. In the same vein of "When You Sleep," she performed the incredibly touching and revealing "Born Sad." Later in the concert, she related that her goal as an artist is to make people feel and that she feels "vulnerability is the key to empathy." This mission statement rings true with every song, but is what really drew me into "Born Sad."

For her third song, she performed a cover of Rick Springfield's "Jesse's Girl." She explained that this was her first time to try the song in front of an audience and adorably whispered "don't f**k up" to herself before beginning the number. Continuing to have fun with the audience, Mary Lambert endeared herself to us is in playing with us. Before signing her fourth song, "So Far Away," she joked around saying that that the song is about hot dogs. In actuality, it is a song about long distance relationship. She also divulged that during the writing process a grammatical error in the original version of the chorus perplexed her for weeks, and almost made her scrap the song until she changed the word "if" to "oh."

Her fourth piece was a visceral spoken poem that she had just finished minutes before taking the stage in which she responded to being caught off guard by being asked a question concerning the trauma she had experienced. In the poem and her dialogue about the poem, she confronts people who rob, whether by accident or not, her autonomy in telling her own story. In the end she asks that we all imagine that victims of trauma are our daughters, dancing in socks in the kitchen, and to have empathy for one another. Following that emotionally charged performance, Mary Lambert sang "Sarasvati." She followed that stirring song with a fun and nicely bitter and biting number about not trusting a woman with red lipstick. This number lifted the audience up, and had us all laughing and cheering.

Then, Mary Lambert said that her next song was extremely important to her, explaining how the piece has more-or-less become her brand. As she readied herself to perform, she gingerly asked, "You ready to cry?" Launching into "Body Love," Mary Lambert masterfully moved every member of the audience to tears. No matter how many times you have listened to the song on the EP or watched videos of it on YouTube, nothing compares to the wall of emotion that crashes over you as she performs this incomparably gripping piece live. Hearing the sobs of released pain escape the audience sharing that experience with you only makes it all the more powerful and poignant. To say that Mary Lambert in concert is an intense experience is an understatement, and it pieces like "Body Love" and the communal response to it that makes her performances so intense. And, once you've sat in a room with her and her fans as she performs, you'll be so grateful for everything that came together to allow you that opportunity.

After the wave of catharsis was allowed to ebb, Mary Lambert sang a lovely full version of "Just Got Home," which some may recognize from her 1 Mic 1 Take video of "Auld Lang Syne/Just Got Home." The song and performance were filled with warmth and mirth. Keeping spirits high and lifted, she closed the set by performing her latest single "Secrets," and encouraged the audience to support her on the chorus. Naturally, her fans, beaming with smiles, sang every word with her. Lastly, for her encore, she shared a charming story about meeting Sam Smith after a recent concert and sang "She Keeps Me Warm," the song that she created around the hook she wrote for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Same Love."

If you missed out on seeing Mary Lambert at SubCulture, you're not out of luck. Her full-length album HEART ON MY SLEEVE is set to be released on October 14, 2014. You can pre-order the album on iTunes and Amazon. Also, to promote the album Mary Lambert will soon be embarking on her HEART ON MY SLEEVE TOUR, which kicks off on October 10, 2014 at Adelaide Hall in Toronto, Ontario. For more information about Mary Lambert and her tour, please visit http://marylambertsings.com. You can also follow Mary Lambert on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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