NEeMA on tour in US

Anjani, Sharon Robinson, NEeMA, The Webb Sisters, Dino Soldo, Jennifer Warnes, Perla Batalla, Julie Christensen, Unified Heart Touring Band, Leonard's tours musicians...
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Mabeanie1
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by Mabeanie1 »

If anyone's interested, Neema's opener for the Chapin Sisters at the Dakota Jazz Club has just shown up on Dime. Downloading now and looking forward to hearing it. The next best thing to seeing her perform live.

Wendy
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by jarkko »

The final dates of this tour have now been confirmed:

11/20 New York, NY @ The Living Room
11/30 Bellingham, WA @ Green Frog Café & Acoustic Tavern
12/02 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
12/03 Eugene, OR @ Diablo's Downtown Lounge
12/04 Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project
12/08 San Francisco, CA @ DuNord
12/09 Fenton, CA @ Don Quixote's International Music Hall
12/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Mc Cabe's
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lizzytysh
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by lizzytysh »

NOTHING anywhere even remotely near me.
Does the end date mean she'll be attending Leonard's last concert? That's a beautiful thought... I like it.


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st theresa
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

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http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainm ... story.html

Just found this story and pic of Neema in a Calgary Herald article--not sure if it was posted already...

There is nothing quite as romantic as being a restless spirit.

So it has obviously been a gift to Sony Music's publicity department that Montreal-born singer-songwriter NEeMA's backstory is filled with enough tales of travel and intrigue to fill five biographies. Whether it be working with street kids in Egypt, living with Tibetan monks in India, helping to manage a First Nations community in the wilds of the Northwest Territories or surfing in Australia, the 30-something songwriter's wanderlust has led to what she refers to as some "intense experiences."

Her spiritual curiosity caused her to seek out both the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa while backpacking in India - not bad names to have dropped into a bio.

Meanwhile, a "chance encounter" with the iconic Leonard Cohen five years ago led to a friendship and apprenticeship of sorts under the master songwriter and poet, which is a fact that has received more than a little attention from the press as NEeMA promotes her sophomore disc, Watching You Think.

"I've had this spiritual-seeking journey or whatever since I was very young," says NEeMA, on the phone from a tour stop in Winnipeg. "I started wondering about God and life after death since I was 10 or 11. That's always been a very deep interest of mine, or question. So, I think that was an influence on seeking out such people."

Her oddly capitalized one-word name, Egyptian and Lebanese descent and undeniable beauty all conspire to present the singer in a certain exotic and mysterious light. But in conversation, NEeMA is friendly, chatty, open and gracious about her career path, particularly when discussing how the Cohen association has helped her creatively. Cohen, alongside Sarah McLachlan producer Pierre Marchand, was an adviser during the recording of Watching You Think, part of a small inner circle of mostly Montreal musicians and producers who helped shape the folky leanings and poetic ambitions of the 12 songs.

But her relationship with the enigmatic Cohen, who also supplied the portrait of NEeMA for the cover art of Watching You Think, goes deeper than mere production advice.

"With the writing of these songs, he's been part of that process since the beginning," she says. "I started sharing my work with him. So he's been kind of a teacher or consultant, supporter, mentor - whatever you want to call it - good friend for the entire process of this album."

NEeMA says she met Cohen by chance roughly five years ago. They live in the same neighbourhood in Montreal and would run into each other at the cafe or in the park, where the two would eventually take her dog for a walk. Soon, he became "probably the biggest influence on my life in the past little while."

"When he was in town, we started to hang out and share ideas about all sorts of things," she says. "Eventually, I started to actually share songs with him. The friendship is what emerged first. After that, I started to share my music with him and my writing with him. He started drawing me. But that all came after."

You would have a difficult time finding any recent press about NEeMA that doesn't focus on the Cohen connection - which may have overwhelmed a lesser album. But Watching You Think is a strong sophomore effort that finds the artist chronicling both inner and outer turmoil in broad, poetic strokes. Perceptive and stripped-down backing was provided by musicians such as Arcade Fire bassist Tim Kingsbury, pianist and arranger Tom Mennier and tabla master Gurpreet Chana, who has played with Nelly Furtado, among others.

The result is a pristine album of folk music with some poppy world-beat shadings, none of which takes the focus off of NEeMA's dulcet vocals and poetic musings. She even makes "Romeo & Juliet," Dire Straits' underrated tale of romance, so convincingly her own that many have assumed she wrote it.

It's all pretty impressive for someone who had such a late start in songwriting and singing.

NEeMA was a poet, dancer and academic before turning her attention to music. She didn't seriously study voice and guitar until she was 25. Roughly 10 years ago, she managed the remote First Nations community of Wekweti in the Northwest Territories alongside tribal elders. Once a month, she would make the 200-kilometre trek from the remote town, which has a population of fewer than 150, to Yellowknife to play cover songs at open-mike nights.

Her stint in the North came after nearly a decade of world travel - everywhere from Egypt and India to Australia and Los Angeles. It wasn't until 2007 that she independently released her debut, Masi Cho. While it showcased both the First Nations and Tibetan influences she soaked up through her travels, NEeMA admits she largely turned over the reins of the project to more experienced musicians. Despite all the high-profile help, she was more confident with her abilities and vision this time around. Many of the 11 songs were written while on tour. "Lost in L.A.," a song about class division and the pursuit of material goods set in the city where the singer lives part-time, was actually massaged during a show at Calgary's Ironwood a few years back. By the time she hit the studio, all the songs had been fully road-tested.

"There was a handful of people that I shared the songs with, and, of course, the musicians in the studio," she says. "This one stayed very, very close to me. It was almost like a baby in the womb. I only sought opinions from people I had enormous trust in."


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainm ... z16dQgp0Ht
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MarieM
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by MarieM »

New dates for NEeMA announced for NY:

January 11th at the Living Room
February 15th at Joe's Pub
Marie
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

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House Concert, Los Angeles, Feb 20, 2011

Image

Organized by Barbara Williams and graciously hosted at her home
with husband Tom Hayden and their son Liam, 11

Liam played a mean upright bass in the concert.

NEeMA was outstanding. It was a fabulous concert and I had a grand time and so did my two guests visiting from Toronto.

This concert was quite a contrast from her gig at The Hotel Cafe last October.

The home setting was very comfortable and of course wherever one sat was close to the "stage". There were refreshments provided and interesting people to mingle with before the concert started, many of whom were Canadians - Barbara Williams is a Canadian originally from Vancouver Island. On my way to get some mint tea, I said hello to the casually dressed Robert Kory kickin' it in fedora and jeans.

Image
Barbara Williams introducing NEeMA
In the words of Leonard Cohen, "In the midst of all the static, a voice of true feeling arises, a rare event" ... NEeMA
When she came out, she looked radiant and absolutely stunning. NEeMA's House Concert was being filmed. (see below). Perhaps she had more makeup on than before because of the lighting used for filming. Her look was spectacular. Wow. I hope my humble photo above and my video captured her radiance.

NEeMA has a Business degree, and once took a position as Manager of the small aboriginal community of Wekweeti in the isolated Far North of Canada. She draws from that experience in her charming intro to A Drum Dance

* A Drum Dance *
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQoxwlHjaCc

NEeMA covered AVALANCHE, by Leonard Cohen. It was thrilling.

One of the videographers filming her concert looked familiar, the multi-talented and very friendly Joey Carenza III (sans fedora).
Joey was roaming all over, even lying on the floor, trying to shoot special angles. Watching him work his camera into different positions was kind of fun.
Image

---Arlene
Last edited by bridger15 on Thu Feb 24, 2011 5:25 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by Mabeanie1 »

Thank you for your report Arlene. I am green with envy .... I would love to see NEeMA perform and a house concert sounds like the perfect place to have the experience. She is a lovely person and I have not given up hope of hearing her sing live. When I met her in Vegas in December she told me that she was hoping to get to tour the UK and Europe this year so my fingers are well and truly crossed that her plans will work out.

Wendy
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

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Oh, Arlene :D ~ I'm so happy for you to have been part of such a lovely, private affair. It had to be wonderful for you to be invited and able to see NEeMA sing in such an intimate environment, and to be able to meet and talk with Robert and Joey in such an informal way. I don't even need to ask if you had a great time. I can see and tell through your words that you did and that you felt honoured to be there. I'm so happy for you. I love the perspective you captured of Joey 8) . NEeMA is so sweet and natural, isn't she? She was very open and engaging when I met her in Las Vegas. In her introduction to the Drum Song here, I loved her story about dancing the wrong direction :lol: . I hope to see her perform one day, too, though don't anticipate its being at a house concert :) . Good on you, Arlene.


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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by bridger15 »

@Lizzy

Just to clarify: NEeMA's House Concert was publicized on Facebook and was open to everyone.

Tickets were $15 which included refreshments.

It certainly was a wonderful experience to watch her perform in such a lovely setting.

---Arlene
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by mutti »

Thanks Arlene for your concert report! Great photos and write up.
Hope she gets out to the west coast (Pacific NW coast) sometime this year.
Leslie 8)
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by brightnow »

Great report Arlene! Thanks :)

NEeMA has recently added new dates to her calendar: http://www.neema.ca/events

In addition to the official CD launch at Joe's Pub there are concert dates in Illinois, Pennsylvania (Philly), Michigan, Washington DC (the VA suburbs), and Massachusetts.

(Wendy: from everything I hear a European tour is still in the works so don't despair!)
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by lizzytysh »

Ah, okay, Arlene. Thanks for the clarification on the House Concert aspect of my posting. I remember seeing on FB that she was performing in L.A., but knowing it was certainly out of the question for me, I just kept going. WoW... so affordable, too... certainly a situation of getting more for less 8) !

That same question crossed my mind, too, mutti :) .


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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by Mabeanie1 »

brightnow wrote:Wendy: from everything I hear a European tour is still in the works so don't despair!
Thanks Avi. That's great news!

Wendy
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by lizzytysh »

I've only just now gotten the opportunity to read the LOVELY Calgary article on her. Thanks for posting it, St. Theresa. It would seem that she and Leonard are never lacking for conversation.
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
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Re: NEeMA on tour in US

Post by donalagata »

Thank you Arlene for your post. NEeMA has a remarkable voice and unique individual style. I have her CD and absolutely love her voice. Looking forward to seeing her perform...
donalagata
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