Settling into my front row seat in one of SF Jazz’s intimate spaces, I was suddenly awash with excitement for what this performance would bring. Having listened to Dominique Fils-Aimé’s discography in the days leading up to this show, I was already taken aback by her intoxicating vocals and reflective lyricism. The chatter around the room was electric as fans waited for the signer to appear.
And then the lights went down. The band walked through the center of the audience to applause as they took their places on stage. Fils-Aimé dawned a beautiful all-black dress with lightly sparkled fingerless evening gloves. The band went right into their hauntingly beautiful rendition of “Feeling Good.” The reverb on Fils-Aimé’s voice engulfed the space, putting the audience into a spell. As soon as the song ended and the spell broke, the audience erupted in applause. “That will be the last time you’ll applaud at this show,” the singer said half jokingly.
The rest of the set was a constant thread of songs only interrupted by tuning of instruments and a small coughing fit from one of the audience members. Fils-Aimé searched the stage for water for the woman in the second row trying to stifle her coughs. As soon as she sipped her water and let the room know she was ok, the audience applauded to the band’s kindness.
I lit up with excitement when I saw that the set list on Apple Music lied about the band not playing my favorite song, “Moi je t’aime.” As soon as the first note I involuntarily let out a small gasp. How it’s possible that the band made this song sound more beautiful than the recording is still beyond me.
There were interludes sprinkled around the set with themes of childhood, time, mothers, frequencies, freedom, hummingbirds, and many other seemingly mundane life experiences that seemingly had a larger impact than led on. Towards the end, Fils-Aimé went into a discussion of jazz and its beauty. She ended with, “whenever you sing and someone says you’re off key, you say, ‘no, I’m singing jazz.’” Which, of course, was met with laughter.
The set ended with a roar of applause and a standing ovation. Even as the band disappeared into the green room, the audience was still shouting their praises. This was my first time in a while where I was part of an audience so enamored with the performers. While I’m just getting into the world of jazz, especially the Bay Area scene, I was fully in awe of this performance. Even weeks later, reminiscing on my experience, I completely understand why both of her San Francisco shows sold out.
Take in the beauty of Dominique Fils-Aimé and her band’s show yourself by going to one of their shows. You can view the remaining tour dates by clicking this link.
Cover photo by Sabiha Merabet
