J*DaVeY, Still Refining, Though One of a Kind

Authored by Scott Goldberg on July 27, 2007 - 11:54am.

The duo of Brook D’Leau and lead singer Jack Davey that comprise the LA-based group J*DaVeY has gained a reputation for soulful, keyboard-and-bass-driven music and a hell of a live performance. The show last night at the famed Roxy on Sunset played to a packed house – the eclectic sort of mix LA is known for: the requisite hipsters, hip hop stars, models, stodgy types, etc. And they all came for the reputation of J*DaVeY, which seems to be seeping through the whispers of the “What’s Cool Now?” crowds throughout the city, one always seeking the next bright thing. An obvious point following a J*DaVeY show: you’ll have just heard a sound and seen a look, a style and vibe you’ve likely never witnessed. That said, J*DaVeY is still developing, and as a friend pointed out, the group oozes with potential.

The word “potential” is still required because there are elements that fall short: a slow start, for example, and at times an illogical set list. The latter isn’t too much of a problem: J*DaVeY’s unpredictability is at times enjoyable. The very style of the music, in fact, is fittingly unpredictable. You get the sense, however, that the band scattered new, rather unpracticed songs throughout the early stage of the performance.

All criticisms went out the window, though, when Jack Davey hit her stride somewhere in the middle of the show. She became visibly more comfortable, more confident, and as she worked up a sweat, dancing in her immeasurably groovy manner and incorporating the mic and its stand as seductively as any female singer ever has, the crowd reacted accordingly, and J*DaVeY appeared before us as the band they can and should be: a damn fun group to dance to, listen to, and watch. The last part is made easier by Jack Davey’s physical gifts; she has a Gwen Stefani quality, a good-girl-voice-meets-vixen-attitude and “f-ing incredible legs” as I overheard one female say, that really is the driving point in the group’s live performances.

Article & Photographs by Scott Goldberg