Viva Voce
10.16.06
Bug Jar (Rochester)
words: April S. Engram
photos: Fliter

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A cool, clear Monday night greeted Viva Voce in Rochester, NYs Bug Jar. I entered the somewhat vacant venue to spy Anita Robinson manning the goods table (cd’s t-shirts, etc.) looking quite relaxed with legs crossed, reading an alternative newspaper. Shaking any nerves, I walked over and humbly introduced myself to the petite guitar goddess when suddenly Kevin Robinson was on my right, walking over to join his wife. Waiting for the opening band to find its way to Bug Jar, apparently they had some difficulty on the road, the duo found themselves lounging, relaxing and waiting for the show to get started.

I found myself spending at least 30 minutes of the night just sitting with the guys, yakking away and keeping Anita company at the table. Finally a large van drove up and out came gear and people, the show got rolling almost an hour late. At last, after a month of anticipation and child-like giddy, I will be able to watch the Voce’s rock out on the stage. With Anita on the guitar, Kevin on the drums and friend of the duo, Kim Baxter playing guitar/bass, Viva Voce were ready to blow us all away, and they did just that regardless of the time constraints that forced them to play a shorter set.

With one last check of the mic, the soft spoken Anita put her head down and effortlessly began the hard, driving riff of “Alive with Pleasure” and Kevin immediately followed with his force driven drum beats. A great opener, Viva Voce got the crowd moving, and being front and center I found myself hypnotically drawn to watching how easily Anita’s fingers created the plentiful sounds of each song. Songs performed that night included “The Lucky Ones,” the eight minute long “So Many Miles,” “From the Devil Himself,” “Believer,” my favorite from the new album, “Special Thing,” and of course, how could they leave without playing “We Do Not F**k Around?”

Every song, old and new, is very pulsating and energy driven, there is nothing like getting these same emotions amplified when you watch the band perform live. Anita packs quite a wallop in such a small package with her loud guitar riffs, and whoever said guitar solos were dead have not seen Anita shred. From behind the drum kit, Kevin was full of energy, banging away like it was his goal to break his set before the night was through; he worked quite a few electronics, including a Theremin and synthesizer among other trinkets I could not see. Often he dropped his drum sticks, and played other instruments while still keeping rhythm with his feet, beating the bass and cymbals. For “From the Devil Himself,” Anita was kind enough to dedicate the song to myself and my guest (my mom). Kevin picked up his acoustic, kicked the beat along, and sang along with Anita, talk about multitasking! As their explosive set was drawing to its close, Viva Voce offered “We Do Not F**k Around” as a quick encore but the crowd wanted more so lastly, Kevin sang “Special Thing.” Leaving his post behind the drum kit, Kevin picked up his guitar and approached the front mic, Anita stepped aside and grabbed Kim’s bass while Kim took to the drums. Before playing Kevin stated to the crowd, “I know this is what you want to see, another white guy with an acoustic guitar…but this is how we roll.” With a laugh from the audience, Viva Voce began the quite melody.

Each song so loud, flawlessly and beautifully executed, Viva Voce’s songs intelligently combine loud guitar driven rock, with quite surreal melodies that meld together thanks to Anita’s soft voice. With a warm hug from Anita and a wave goodbye to Kevin I bid my farewell to the adorable Robinsons. The Voce’s put on a great, clean rock show that should not be missed, my ears were still ringing hours after the guys packed away and made their way to the next stop of the tour to promote their excellent new album Get Yr Blood Sucked Out.