Spring Break
The Daily OrangeOpening piano act overshadows Chapin's vocal talents
By Jean Stevens
Posted: 11/19/04, 1:49 AM EST Section: Pulp
The pastel fliers advertised a performance by singer/songwriter Jen Chapin. The CDs for sale in the back of the salmon-colored room were Jen Chapin's. But green-eyed sophomore Natalie Pascarella stole the show.
Pascarella, who opened for Chapin at last night's acoustic event in the Jabberwocky Café sponsored by the Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association, sat in a mahogany chair in front of the small stage, keyboard at her fingertips. She gave the crowd a brief, shaky hello, and announced her first of seven cover songs: Norah Jones' "Come Away with Me."
She pressed her fingers to the keys, her mouth opened and a low, strong voice emerged. Several members of the audience glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. She sang with more tenderness than Jones, her eyes closed or open, staring only at the keyboard.
She glanced up, once, at the audience, her cheeks flushing as she finished the song. She flashed a smile, and in her perky, high speaking voice, announced her next song: Jewel's "Foolish Games."
"Oops, sorry," Pascarella said after singing the first line, the only proof of her nerves, and began again, her voice as rich as the coffee being served in dark red paper cups.
Nearly 50 students crowded the small café, lounging in and on the arms of the soft maroon and mahogany chairs. Many sat in a semicircle only several feet from the music industry major. After Pascarella sang covers of three Joni Mitchell songs, Desree's "Kissing You" and Fiona Apple's "Never Is a Promise," the students unfurrowed their brows and released their breath. They burst into applause, standing in ovation.
Pascarella, who had never before performed alone in front of an audience, received hug after hug.
"I'm blown away," said Emily Fox, a sophomore music industry major who is in many classes with Pascarella. "She has a really big talent not a lot of people get to see."
"I was really nervous," Pascarella said, fiddling with the lavender stone of her necklace. "But it was really exhilarating and fun."
Pascarella, who opened for Chapin at last night's acoustic event in the Jabberwocky Café sponsored by the Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association, sat in a mahogany chair in front of the small stage, keyboard at her fingertips. She gave the crowd a brief, shaky hello, and announced her first of seven cover songs: Norah Jones' "Come Away with Me."
She pressed her fingers to the keys, her mouth opened and a low, strong voice emerged. Several members of the audience glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. She sang with more tenderness than Jones, her eyes closed or open, staring only at the keyboard.
She glanced up, once, at the audience, her cheeks flushing as she finished the song. She flashed a smile, and in her perky, high speaking voice, announced her next song: Jewel's "Foolish Games."
"Oops, sorry," Pascarella said after singing the first line, the only proof of her nerves, and began again, her voice as rich as the coffee being served in dark red paper cups.
Nearly 50 students crowded the small café, lounging in and on the arms of the soft maroon and mahogany chairs. Many sat in a semicircle only several feet from the music industry major. After Pascarella sang covers of three Joni Mitchell songs, Desree's "Kissing You" and Fiona Apple's "Never Is a Promise," the students unfurrowed their brows and released their breath. They burst into applause, standing in ovation.
Pascarella, who had never before performed alone in front of an audience, received hug after hug.
"I'm blown away," said Emily Fox, a sophomore music industry major who is in many classes with Pascarella. "She has a really big talent not a lot of people get to see."
"I was really nervous," Pascarella said, fiddling with the lavender stone of her necklace. "But it was really exhilarating and fun."
