New York – When I first heard ZZ Ward, she was touted as a bluesy songwriter and vocal talent with a hip hop background, with a big emphasis on her collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Fitz & the Tantrums and Freddie Gibbs. My actual first impression was a vocal talent that could have easily been a contender on American Idol. Sure enough, back in 2002 she was the youngest competitor at the Eugene, OR auditions, at just 16 and when she still went by her real name, Zsuzsanna Ward. She didn’t make the trip to Los Angeles that time, but it all worked out for her, as less than 10 years later she was based in California and signed to Hollywood Records.
At her performance at a crowded Irving Plaza Monday night, ZZ was the more experienced version of herself, backed by an amazing blues band. She immediately engaged the crowd, addressing the mass before her generally as “New York” and explaining her little life stories through cleverly staged segues from one song to the next, and relating to the mostly early to mid-twenties female crowd with songs like “If I Could Be Her,” and “Put the Gun Down,” seemingly her take on Dolly Parton’s classic “Jolene.”
ZZ Ward’s voice is certainly well suited for a blues style, but she comes off just a little too well-adjusted, and definitely with more monetary backing than “dollars down on Diamond Boulevard.” She may not actually be a true deep soul and blues artist, but she has been all over the pop rock and alternative charts, and it’s a good bet she’ll really be a breakout star. Everyone can relate to songs about relationship troubles, and songs like “Cry Wolf,” about what happens when a guy drinks too much and then can’t deliver on “all those awesome things he said he would do” definitely makes for good material. During that number, her band broke out into an awesome jam, which she wasn’t really a part of, save for pointing to the players during their impressive noodling solos. Her band earns her major points, as does her cover of Son House’s “Grinnin’ In Your Face.”
At the end of the set, the encore was expected. After ZZ gave the ultimatum of “We can walk off the stage right now and not come back, or we can play some more songs,” the crowd made it clear the latter was preferable. For the girls around me who probably have never heard of Son House before, they have found their current definition of blues, and exclaimed loudly, “She’s SO badass!”
