READ WHAT THE PRESS HAS TO SAY ABOUT FOILED AGAIN...
• Old Black Magic: Foiled Again Sings Arlen
• Holiday Bizarre
• Hit Factory: Songs of the Brill Building
• Dark Cafe Days: Foiled Again Sings Joni Mitchell
Old Black Magic: Foiled Again Sings Arlen
he endlessly entertaining trio of Allison Bazarko, Rob Lindley and Anne Sheridan Smith, who collectively bill themselves as Foiled Again, could well have titled their latest show Hit the Road to Dreamland, because that's exactly where this marvelous threesome takes the audience during their tribute to the music of Harold Arlen at Davenport's. Throughout this hour-plus dip into Arlen's songbook, Foiled Again displays its effortless and entrancing three-part harmonies (intriguing creations by Bazarko that often seem to come out of nowhere) that are unequaled in Chicago amid a fine mix of group and solo selections. And it is the fact that each of the three is such a strong performer and vocal interpreter individually that fortifies the group's power when those voices come together. Saying they "wanted to jazz it up" with this latest songwriter showcase, Foiled Again does just that with dynamic takes on "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and "Anyplace I Hang My Hat Is Home" but also slows things down for Bazarko's searing "Stormy Weather" and Smith's tender "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe", and leaves us misty-eyed and with a lump in the throat at the end of Lindley's gorgeous "Right As the Rain." A jiving mix of "As Long As I Live/Come Rain or Come Shine" and slowly seductive "That Old Black Magic" take their place as highlights alongside a lush "Take the Road to Dreamland" as well in this charming, witty and melodious success. --Jeff Rossen, Cabaret Scenes, October 28, 2005
ust wait until you hear this vocal trio harmonize - you won't be disappointed. Give this trio a piano, three microphones and a good songbook and there isn't any tune it can't conquer. After successful homages to such musical luminaries as Bacharach and David and Joni Mitchell, cabaret trio Foiled Again will salute Harold Arlen in honor of his centennial birthday. Arlen composed more than 400 songs in his lifetime, including the soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz and most notably "Over the Rainbow". Even when you don't know the music, it's hard not to enjoy the stunning vocal harmonies from members Allison Bazarko, Rob Lindley and Anne Sheridan Smith. --Jason Heineman, Time Out Chicago, October, 2005
oiled Again is an energetic cabaret trio consisting of Allison Bazarko, Rob Lindley, and Anne Sheridan Smith. Their salute to the music of Harold Arlen, titled Old Black Magic, is a lively tribute. As solo artists these young vocalists are entertaining, yet remarkably different. Allison brings mainly jazz approaches; Rob takes the cabaret or musical theater road (with those precious crystal consonants so foolishly overlooked in too many cabaret deliveries); Anne delivers in the night club vein. Such different styles make for interesting variety. It is, however in the trio numbers where this group especially shines. Allison's arrangements and the clean close harmonies recall the Andrews Sisters, but sexier. In "That Old Black Magic", when the lyrics go "round and round" the singers' voices do as well communicating the sensuality of that tune. The arrangement enriches the spell the lyrics weave. Rob Lindley's interpretation of Arlen's beloved "If I Only Had A Brain", took us to a place the Scarecrow never did. In a Rob's light, this tune is about a real human perceiving he "isn't good enough." Don't we all have those days when we perceive our heads are "full of stuffing?" In Rob's reflective and rewardingly understated delivery, the "brainless" speaker of these words is any of us longing to be worthy of the love and respect of someone we desire. Of course, the words still make us laugh, but now we are relating to them all the more. Anne Sheridan Smith can belt with the best of them. Nevertheless, her show highlight was the quiet "Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe", made famous, as Ann reminds us, by the late Ethel Waters. Ann respects Arlen's bittersweet lyric. The table may be bare, but with the right partner, yes, every day can glow like Christmas. Near the end of the show, Allison Bazarko brought us a multi-layered jazz interpretation of "One For My Baby". Unlike the bartender in that tune, we are not so anxious for the dialogue to close. Piano accompaniment by Dan Stetzel and bass by Geoffrey Lowe provided the trio with the right support. Several arrangements took advantage of voice/bass trades or underscoring often enabling the vocalist to reveal sweet moments of simple truth in the lyric. --Carla Gordon, Cabaret Hotline Online, June 2005
ith stunning harmonies and a winning collection of songs, the trio Foiled Again (Allison Bazarko, Rob Lindley and Sheridan Smith) took the stage at Davenport's Piano Bar and Cabaret to celebrate the holiday season. Their new show, and their first at Davenport's, "Holiday Bizarre," is an often amusing and sometimes poignant look at the season. Opening with an impeccable rendition of Paul Simon's "Hazy Shade of Winter", they had the audience in the palm of their hand. Their harmonies were perfect and reminiscent of Peter, Paul, and Mary at their finest. Highlights of the show included Ms. Smith's lovely rendition of Judy Collins' "The Blizzard" and the beautiful arrangement of "The Coventry Carol" and "Love Came Down at Christmas/In the Bleak Midwinter". Rounding the evening out with a jazzy arrangement of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", this was a fine, four-star evening of entertainment. The holiday season is about traditions, and I hope that Foiled Again return next year with another holiday celebration so that I can make it part of my holiday traditions, but, in the meantime, they will be performing at Davenport's on Saturday, December 15th at 10:30 pm and Sunday, December 16th at 7:00 pm. Reservations are highly recommended. --Todd Shuman, Cabaret Hotline Online, December 2001
Hit Factory: Songs of the Brill Building
he Brill Building in New York City was once a world unto itself. While accountants, advertising execs and publishers toiled away in neighboring buildings, inside 1619 Broadway the business of the day -- and the night -- was music. It was here that such songwriting teams as Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry crafted the sounds that filled the airwaves and made the 45 single the format of choice for the teenage record buyers in the '50s and '60s. Often within a week's time, a song could go from idea to marketable product. Everything that was needed to make that happen was right there: The writers, the producers, the singers, the studios. It was exactly what Foiled Again titles its new show, "Hit Factory: Songs of the Brill Building." The engaging trio of Allison Bazarko, Rob Lindley and Sheridan Smith survey some of the top hits to have been created at the Brill Building, focusing on four songwriting teams: Bacharach and David, King and Goffin, Greenwich and Barry, and Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. What they've put together is an absolute delight, sometimes raucously funny (the opening "Leader of the Pack", accessorized with enormous two-dimensional, brightly colored beehives; Lindley's hilarious take on "Then He Kissed Me"; the trio's beat poet recitation of some of the less-inspired lyrical creations), sometimes warmly tender (Smith's "Look of Love" by Bacharach and David, and Bazarko's take on the same title by Greenwich, Barry and Phil Spector; Lindley's "Kentucky Bluebird (Message to Martha)"; Bazarko's "Don't Make Me Over") and sometimes sizzling (Smith's rousing "Pearl's a Singer"; the women's pairing of "I'm a Woman/Natural Woman"; Lindley's "Fools Fall in Love"). The tight harmonies of Foiled Again are perfectly suited to and do fine justice to their musical selections, whether working together on the unstoppable "River Deep, Mountain High" or driving "One Fine Day", or when two of the members lend support to the solo lead of their comrade in charms. With the period-perfect piano arrangements by musical director Dan Stetzel behind them, Bazarko, Smith and Lindley's tour of the Brill Building is a trip that should not be missed. (***1/2) -- Jeff Rossen, Gay Chicago Magazine, June 20, 2002
'Hit Factory' produces incredible sound results'
here is an inherent challenge for a vocalist to take a familiar old song that has stood the test of time and make it sparkle like a new jewel. This can be accomplished by reinventing the song completely as easily as by injecting some of your own passion into the standard arrangement. The Foiled Again Trio rise to the challenge repeatedly in their current cabaret show, "Hit Factory: Songs of the Brill Building," running at 10:30 p.m. Saturdays though June at Davenport's, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. The Brill Building in New York was - literally - a hit factory in the early days of Rock and Roll music. Leiber and Stoller, King and Goffin, Greenwich and Barry are among the songwriting teams inhabited the musical heaven that spawned such hits as "One Fine Day," "Leader of the Pack" and "Up on the Roof." In the hands/voices of Rob Lindley, Allison Bazarko, and Sheridan Smith, these (and others) come to life in a way that even transcends some of the original recordings. Lindley, for his part, supplies subtle strokes of comedy between his stirring vocalizations, which include a drop-dead version of "Kentucky Bluebird (Message to Martha)" by Bacharach and David. His reinvention of Leiber/Stoller's "Fool Fall in Love" is remarkable. Bakarko has one of the most uniquely textured voices I have ever heard. Her Bacharach/David penned "Don't Make Me Over" lends a new level of understanding to the lyrics that we have all sung along with for years. She could make this a top-40 hit today. Bazarko's breakout voice wraps around "Baby, I Love You" during the "Baby-in-the-title" medley. Smith and Bazarko combine for some beautiful harmonies. Smith cuts loose when she displays her own range, which alternates between "Leader of the Pack" and the high powered Leiber and Stoller cut "Pearl's a Singer". Smith rocks and Bazarko rolls on the mini-medley "I'm a Woman/Natural Woman". Another thoughtful choice by this group is to alter configurations throughout the night. There are solo moments and duet moments to break up the trio moments, all of which are musically incredible. It would be a shame to miss this unique and marvelous production. --Paul Barile, Chicago Arts and Entertainment, June 2005
oiled Again is at it again. Yes, they're once again bringing Chicago cabaret lovers an evening of non-stop entertainment! This trio of super talented vocalists (Allison Bazarko, Rob Lindley, and Sheridan Smith) has returned to Davenport's Piano Bar and Cabaret, and this time they are celebrating the music of four songwriting teams who all worked in the famed Brill Building in New York. Designing an evening of music by Greenwich & Barry, Bacharach & David, Goffin & King, and Lieber & Stoller is no easy task, considering the hundreds and hundreds of famous songs these teams wrote during their time at the Brill Building, but Foiled Again are certainly up to the challenge. Given the number of songwriters who worked in the Brill Building over the years, it's a wise decision they made to concentrate on only four songwriting teams. Perhaps we can look forward to another four teams being highlighted in a future show. Whether it's "Leader of the Pack" performed in giant (and I mean giant), colorful bee-hives, Ms. Bazarko and Ms. Smith's sultry take of "I'm A Woman", Mr. Lindley's humorous rendition of "Then He Kissed Me", or their Peter, Paul, and Mary-esque harmonies during their fine and flawless rendition of "One Fine Day", this is an often comical and always entertaining trip back to the music of the 1950s and 1960s. Watch out for their "Great Lyrics of the Brill Building" segment, that's worth the price of admission alone! -- Todd Shuman, Cabaret Hotline Online, June 2002
Dark Cafe Days: The Songs of Joni Mitchell
f there is a group performing tighter, more intricate harmonies, I haven't heard them. The group--made up of Allison Bazarko, Rob Lindley and Sheridan Smith--presented a diverse selection of music from Joni Mitchell's four decades as a jazz and folk artist. Songs like "Raised on Robbery" and "Circle Game" are fine showcases for the group's dynamic harmonies. The encore, "Big Yellow Taxi," was performed a cappella with a rich and full sound. Each performer took a solo turn at the mike as well. Of particular note, Smith's heart-wrenching take on "The Gallery" and Lindley's unforgettable performance of "Case of You" that he ends with a few bars of the Mitchell standard "Both Sides Now". No disrespect to Mitchell, but it was refreshing to hear her work freed from her overshadowing persona. You realize the power doesn't lie within her eccentric personality, but rather in her melodies and her words. -- Misha Davenport, Chicago Sun-Times, March 13, 2003
oni Mitchell is certainly one of the best singer-songwriters in the business today, and the vocal trio Foiled Again (Allison Bazarko, Rob Lindley, and Sheridan Smith) have turned their attention to this folk-rock genius. The inherent problem in putting together an evening of Joni Mitchell music is that, well, she hasn't written a lot of upbeat songs. As they point out in the show Mitchell calls love songs "portraits of disappointment." Foiled Again, however, gets around this by having so much fun singing Mitchell's music and talking about her, that the audience can't help but have fun along with them. In the show, they perform Mitchell standards like "Help Me," "The Circle Game," "In France They Kiss on Main Street," and a delicious a Capella arrangement of "Big Yellow Taxi". Mr. Lindley's performance of "Case of You" paired with a bit of "Both Sides Now" is touching and ranks as one of the highlights of the show. With great vocal harmonies and wonderful material, Foiled Again will send you home with a smile on your face. --Todd Shuman, Cabaret Hotline Online, March 2003
