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Holly Conlan, Meiko & Katy Perry @ Hotel Cafe, 1/12/09
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Katy Perry & Meiko inside the Hotel Cafe Green Room
On Monday night, while Norwegian rocker Ida Maria (MySpace) wowed the Spaceland (MySpace) crowd, Santa Barbara's Katy Perry (MySpace) returned to her singer-songwriter roots by headlining a sold out show at the Hotel Cafe (MySpace) in Hollywood, with support from last-minute openers Holly Conlan (MySpace) and Meiko (MySpace). LA-Underground observed that, "If [Perry] returned to the 50-capacity Genghis Cohen Cantina or Highland Grounds where she really started now that would be something (especially since Highland Grounds/The Dive closed last year)." But to say that this intimate show wasn't highly anticipated would be wildly inaccurate, as fans flew in from as far away as Vancouver, offering as much as $200 for a pair of tickets, and upwards of 15 paparazzi camped outside at the front and rear entrances for the duration of the evening.
According to Mikael Wood at The LA Times, "Perry was a regular on the Hotel Café's earnest singer-songwriter circuit, and watching her adjust the larger-than-life size of her current persona to the cozier dimensions of her earlier one offered proof that Perry is a more serious talent than her many detractors claim. For starters, her singing was terrific, sore throat and sniffles aside. Perry's album 'One of the Boys' features the handiwork of several A-list pop producers, studio magicians capable of making the most unremarkable voice sound like that of a star. Yet Perry's instrument required no sweetening Monday, particularly in ballads such as 'I'm Still Breathing' and 'I Think I'm Ready,' both of which ached with an old-soul weariness at odds with the bright-eyed joie de vivre of 'I Kissed a Girl' and Perry's other radio smash, 'Hot N Cold.'"
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Naturally, Meiko blogged about the show, explaining that "I picked up some nasty flu bug while I was in Europe, and it kicked my arse for a little bit... The bummer/ awesomeness that happened... was... the day I got back... I got asked to open up for Katy Perry at The Hotel Cafe... I was like, 'Uhhh-should I do it??? I feel like balls!?' But... I did it... I had to... Not only because it was an already sold-out show... but, because Katy is my friend and she asked me to. Did yall know she started off at the Hotel Cafe? I used to serve beers while she would be on stage, by herself with her acoustic guitar... Haha!) Those were the days...."
As for upcoming local shows, Conlan's are on January 29th and February 28th at the Hotel Cafe, Meiko's are tonight at the Hotel Cafe and February 21st at the Henry Fonda Theater, and Perry's is on January 31st at The Wiltern.
Special thanks to Holly Conlan, Meiko, Katy Perry, and the Hotel Cafe.
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