Sunshine at Solstice

Alli Sunshine plays to the Solstice Cafe

The Solstice Cafe in downtown Victoria hosted Trevor Davies album release show Friday night, and for the 60 or so people that attended, they were treated to a nice coffee house experience. Unfortunately for Trevor though, due to some technical difficulties that really slowed down his set, it was the two opening acts that really stood out.

Alex Hicks started the night with a beautiful set. Hicks, a member of Raw Hunnie, had a super strong voice that really dominated the cafe. She played the guitar quite nicely, and apart from one little slip-up during a song, she played lights out. She seemed comfortable for the most part, her interaction with the crowd was decent. She has a phenomenal voice, and I'll keep an eye out for her in the future.

Next up was Alli Sunshine, and filling in for the Blue Sparrows was Trevor Davies' band mates, Bassist Phil Albert, and drummer Dave Klasen. Sunshine was the reason we were at the show, and she didn't disappoint. She is a very personable performer on the stage, and you get a real sense of her enthusiasm. Even with band members who had never played with her, and on a borrowed keyboard, she had the cafe's full attention. I was very happy to find that her voice was even better in person, and I'm really curious to see her with her own band now (especially with some guitar!).

Trevor Davies closed up the night at the cafe. As I mentioned earlier, they had some problems with their gear, and the set never really had a flow. Those difficulties shortened their set, and it was really too bad. I'm not sure if it was the difficulties, but I don't think their stuff is for me. Not to say it isn't good, because the crowd that Davies brought in last night certainly seemed like they got what they wanted. All in all, it was a great Friday night.