Live at Carnegie Hall by Cameron Winter (poem+review!!)

There's a dryness to your voice

And you keep on trying

And my hand is a glance away

Wavering as you move

Though you're a pretty singer

You dance in my eyes 

Stepping in and out

And it feels as if you're

Something so close

And so very near to me

And you try

My hand tries and fails

To remain unmoved by the wind

Your fingers that play fragments where beautiful words with beautiful meanings

Fail to catch your glance

All fails but the cracks of your voice

You're perfect, imperfect

Paper planes above the sea

You take me to the mountains of Montenegro

Where I fall for you

We're cutout papers playing with each other

Did you hear me yet?

Idiot

I've fallen for you

Idiot.

It's silly imagining that when I saw you flail

Flop and dance

Your voice rung in the chambers of my head

And love took me years

But in the moment that lasted for forever

I fell in love with your breaking voice

Usually I find it very difficult to find perfect albums. Before I had 5 perfect albums that I listened to every so often. But then after some relistens, I find I’m only left with 2 albums. That changed when I listened to Body of Work by Edward Skeletrix. It was an uncomfortable listen, but it felt necessary and through all its imperfections and wrongs I found a new perfect album that I adored. And I thought it was going to stay like that for months if not years. Surely I wouldn't find a new album that I find perfect in the same year? Consecutive yearly 10 out of 10s are already hard to come by already so what's the chance I'd find that diamond in the rough so soon? 

To my greatest surprise I encountered Live at Carnegie Hall by Cameron Winter just yesterday. I first encountered it on AOTY and I thought to myself. Oh! Another cool live album that people really like. Usually Live Albums are rated highly and for good reason (Like Fishmans or Parannoul). “Maybe I will like it”, I thought. I'm familiar with Cameron Winter's work already. Listened to Getting Killed and listened to a bit of his solo work as well. He's a talented individual and I found his music to be quite enjoyable, but not crazily amazing.

But that changed yesterday. At first I thought it would be another enjoyable record from him. And I also found myself surprised that it’s just a man with a piano and only his voice. “He’s working with so little!” I thought. And I had doubts on whether I could remain interested in the entire 1 hour and 7 minutes of this album playing. But, color me surprised. There was something special about this record. I’m typing this now trying to figure out words that could describe how I felt as I listened to it. Through all my knowledge in the English Lexicon, I struggle to express myself now. What really drew me in was his singing. To me it was by no means as impressive as other vocalists than, let's say Celine Dion, Laufey, or Beyonce. But his singing held power. Power that moves crowds, power that has passion. Yes, that’s the word, his singing was imperfect but it held weight. There was emotion in his flawed vocals that seemed so perfect in my eyes. It's just a man, his voice and piano. Everything is stripped bare. There's no fancy production. No instrument that can save you. And making a mistake can cost your entire performance and leave the audience feeling disappointed.

And he succeeds. Tremendously. With so little he's able to do so much. There's something so special in his vocals that consumed me so. And the playing of the piano. It accentuates the passion behind his singing. And makes you wonder. Is magic real? How is he able to pull off such tricks with so little? There's so much passion and emotion put in this performance. I really can't stress it enough. This performance was a dance, a concert, a scream, and a display of who Cameron Winters is. Moved me so, that I made this poem!

Some days I wonder if magic is a real thing. And it's a lesson that I forget. That there is magic in the arts. There are works that can move crowds and make you feel tears that uncontrollably fall down on your cheek. There is passion and madness present in the world that captivates us. It's a drug that we ask for. And it's a sweetness and tenderness that our bodies taste. This album is a work of passion. With the voice of a man and his hands. Cameron Winters speaks magic.