Vanessa Collier and Sweet Leda @ The Hamilton DC 10/09/2024

The term “basement venue” can have distinctive connotations. For some, it will conjure up memories of energized DIY punk shows. For others, it may harken them back to dark dance clubs like DC’s dearly departed U Street Music Hall. But The Hamilton proves that basements venues can be elegant and polished all the same.

Chuck Levin’s caught Vanessa Collier and Sweet Leda at The Hamilton DC on Wednesday, October 9^th for a night of blues, soul, and rock that highlighted two incredible acts from our very own state of Maryland. Everything sounded incredible in this venue. The dim lighting, table service, and extensive soft goods allow the space to become either a quiet listening room or a proper dance floor depending on how the show is structured. Due to its association with the Clyde’s restaurant upstairs, The Hamilton also offers something many venues lack – top notch food! We personally recommend the sushi, pizza, and salads.

Vanessa Collier was born in Texas and raised in Howard County, MD before eventually settling in South Carolina as of late, and it was easy to hear this entire journey reflected in her music. As a band leader, she was commanding and approachable onstage. She is a powerhouse multi-instrumentalist who looked equally at home on vocals, saxophone, and guitar throughout the night. When Collier wasn’t engaging with the crowd, we were most charmed by the interactions of her full band. In keeping with common blues conventions, many songs featured extended instrumental solos and it seemed like all band members were genuinely excited to hear what the other players had to say musically, creating an earnest sense of listening and collaboration that is always unique to live performance.

Her set proved that a band can be both well-rehearsed and fluid and that the blues can feel both traditional and refreshed. Lead guitarist Laura Chavez won Guitar Player of the Year at the 2023 Blues Music Awards, bassist Scot Sutherland has two Band of the Year BMA wins in two different bands, and Byron Cage’s understated and tasteful drumming left no question why he is a Grammy-nominated artist. But Collier is no stranger to industry accolades either. In addition to her 2022 and 2023 BMA wins for Horn Player of the Year, she notably won the 2017 USA Songwriting Competition for her lyrics to “When It Don’t Come Easy” which stood out as one of the swampiest songs of the night in all the right ways.

Other highlights for us included the title track off of her newest album, “Do It My Own Way”, “Just One More” with a blues bossa feel, the affirming ballad “Wild As A Rainstorm”, and a rendition of “Bad News Bears” drenched in New Orleans style used to close out the show.

The gear theme of the night was tried-and-true simplicity. Yet again, we witnessed Fender’s success with working musicians firsthand. Chavez rocked a Custom Shop red Stratocaster through a tweed Blues Junior with Jensen speaker. Her pedal selection was eclectic but minimal, giving us everything we expect out of a blues guitarist and absolutely nothing we don’t. We clocked an Xotic Effects RC Booster, a Mooer Trelicopter tremolo, and a highly sought after but long since discontinued BOSS ’63 Fender Reverb perched atop her amp. 

For bass, Sutherland played a beautifully worn sunburst Fender Precision Bass through an Aguilar AG700. He had a BOSS TU-3 and MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe on the floor but the most intriguing part of his rig was actually right on the instrument itself – a mute! Straight out of the Motown playbook, this foam pad placed behind the bridge can shorten the sustain of electric bass notes to put them more in line with those produced by an upright double bass. This gave Sutherland’s bass tone a thuddier, more pointed retro sound which felt right at home in music that paid homage to iconic American musical genres of the past.

Collier herself is a Selmer sax artist but also played a hollow T-style Mulecaster electric guitar with mini-humbuckers and a Republic Highway Resonator.

Sweet Leda were there for a good time! They hail from Baltimore and opened the show with a dominant first set. They present like a classic rock band at first glance – you’ll find a drummer, one guitarist, bassist, keys player, and lead singer onstage – but, only a few songs in, they showed their wide range and deep understanding of funk, soul, and pop too.

Frontwoman, Julie Cymek, remains an influential presence on the DMV vocalist scene. She has a charming stage demeanor that can oscillate between explosive and silly at a breath’s notice. But at the core of her charisma is always her voice – powerful, bluesy, and soulful like a modern combination of Janice Joplin, Susan Tedeschi, and Tina Turner.

 The Sweet Leda band provided the perfect instrumental bed for Cymek’s vocal prowess and stage antics. Their collective sense of groove and pocket made any listener want to dance and told the story of years spent together that is difficult to replicate in new musical relationships. With dynamics and moments both big and small, their cover of “I Put A Spell On You” did exactly that.

Gear highlights from the Sweet Leda set were a well-worn Fender Jazz Bass in mocha brown with block inlays and a full-size Leslie cabinet for their keyboard player! This whirling speaker reminded us of every fantastic psychedelic band from the 60s or 70s and imparted an irreplaceable authenticity to their sound. In the era of amp simulators and silent stages, there is still some untouchable magic in a band that carts a giant spinning speaker around!

Ready to learn more about these awesome artists and venue?!  

Vanessa Collier - https://www.vanessacollier.com/

Sweet Leda - https://sweetleda.com/

The Hamilton Live - https://live.thehamiltondc.com/

Blog by Juliette Bell

Photo/Video by Emory Hensley