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Patricia Vonne
Live at the Gypsy Tea Room
Dallas, TX
August 1, 2003
By David Pilot
 Touring
on the strength of her incredibly well-received debut CD, Patricia
Vonne stormed into Dallas on a sultry Friday night and for the
most part made the Gypsy Tea Room her own. Set for a show in
the smaller Tea Room side of the venue, one of Dallas' most respected
places for live music, Ms. Vonne made her entrance and promptly
parked at the middle of the room's sole bar to write out the
set lists. Her modeling background and general comfort in
the public eye both proved important as she amiably interrupted
her writing and thought process repeatedly to speak kindly with
the strangers, well wishers and hangers-on. Husband Bobby was
a bit less occupied, working a cold bottle of Bass and working
the crowd around Patricia in a wonderful display of what running
interference is all about. An affable and excited-to-be-here
fella, Bobby made all comers feel welcome and talked at length
about his Massachusetts childhood and the differences he's found
and grown to love with his move to San Antonio. Coolest story
he told? The show with Billy Joe Shaver a few weeks back.
As the conversation rambled and it became clear that Bobby
and Patricia are espoused, Billy Joe spread those lanky arms
and wrapped them both in a warm embrace before unleashing that
preacher voice of his and offering a blessing both for the union
and the artistic future of husband and wife.
Wasn't long before the evening's opening act, Soulhat ex Kevin
McKinney, wrapped up a worthwhile if not audience-grabbing solo
set and Patricia and band took the stage. Ms. Vonne's exceptional
physical beauty took center stage in short order; the eyes of
every man in the room were locked front and center while the
eyes of most of the women were smolderingly directed in the direction
of their dates' luckless hearts. It didn't take long, though,
for the wall of sound coming from the stage to win the attention
of both genders. By the time the hard rocking "Mudpies
and Gasoline" was unleashed the crowd was in the palm of
Patricia's hand.
Very quickly the atmosphere changed entirely, however; it
was as if a cosmic shift had inexplicably opened and the ghosts
of Castille set mortal foot in the passages of old New Mexico.
Spanish guitars rang in the night as Ms. Vonne danced with
her castanets in a manner that surely would summon the ghost
of William Bonney. Young Billy never appeared, conjured though
he was, but again the males in the audience seemed ready to ride
the eternal range without question at Patricia's beck and call.
Unfortunately, stage presence and audience control gave way
eventually to runway presence and audience disassociation as
the Spanish-language ballads wore on and the purely English speaking
audience lost interest. It wasn't that the songs weren't done
well, certainly not that Ms. Vonne's ethereal and masterful voice
wasn't in clear display; it was simply too much Espanol for a
yuppified crowd to ingest. As the magic and intoxication dissipated
the crowd began to focus on their beers and the men began working
their way back into their dates' good graces. Songs from "Dead
Eyes Shine" to "El Cruzado" eventually won a portion
of the audience back, and those who lost track in between did
so at their own loss. Ms. Vonne's set was solid and musically
accomplished from start to finish. Perhaps it's the hallmark
of a fledgling performer that at times the audience will waft
softly away from the singer's palm and trance. In this case,
the issue was more with Vonne's theatrical and modeling background;
her poise and presence were impeccable but ultimately lacked
the sensual sexuality and smoldering intrigue that her eyes,
her dress and her music so clearly promise. I believe with
repeated outings she'll grow out of that; when she does, your
choice will boil down to leaving your wife at home or returning
to your domicile with a bruised upper arm.
Catch Patricia if you can. Her wings are spreading, and as
the band grows together (Patricia you really should introduce
them from the stage, you know) and develops the cohesiveness
that only comes from the road wars, she has the ingredients that
can be mixed into a top draw. For now the metamorphosis, though
chaste at times, is intriguing to watch.
www.patriciavonne.com
Contact David Pilot at: editor-at-rockzilla.net
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