Deb Oh & the Cavaliers at Brooklyn Bowl (L to R: Emily Kalish, Alan Jeffries, Dave Yim, Dari Matilsky & Deb Oh)
Deb Oh and the Cavaliers played a brief set
Wednesday night at Brooklyn Bowl, inhabiting a distinctly mellow and soulful sound world reminiscent of a more uptempo Sarah McLachlan. Throughout the set, Oh’s smooth and melismatic voice floated above the band, and she proved to be a charismatic performer who was perfectly at ease singing and playing—whether at the keyboard, or whilst ferociously beating a lone tom-tom.
Besides Oh, the seven-piece band featured Emily Kalish (violin), Alan Jeffries
(cello/guitar), Dari Matilsky (back-up vocals), Dave Yim (drums), TJ Dumser
(guitar), and Charlene Kaye (bass). Highlights from their set included the original songs "Imitate her Love" and "Primacy" (from their debut LP, Hieroglyphs), as well as a clever arrangement of Kanye West’s "Love Lockdown."
Unfortunately, tech problems threw their balance off kliter, so much so that the lead vocals were often difficult to comprehend. Even so, there’s no doubt that Deb Oh and her band of motley
cavaliers are a talented bunch. Watch out for them.