Eleni Mandell plays to the insatiable dinner crowd in NYC

March 5, 2009, at Joe's Pub

By Natasha Ryan
Published: March 9th, 2009 | 7:15pm

Los Angeles' Eleni Mandell played a captivating show Thursday night at the Joe's Pub — despite the tinkering of empty beer glasses and the bustle of silhouetted waitresses darting between the tables that hugged the tiny stage. It was the perfect intimate setting for the singer-songwriter's brooding and often confessional songs. Looking spectacular in a lacy black floral dress, she swayed nonchalantly as she strummed the down-strokes on guitar for her first song of the night, the bluesy "My Twin." Given the setting, an initial impression might have one assume that the breadth of her catalog caters to the loungy, nightclub scene. But Mandell transcends the stereotype of the chanteuse: She's been writing and playing music for almost 10 years and has spanned genres from alt-country to jazz and new wave.

Her voice, sultry and hushed, is similar to Chan Marshall's, but more pronounced in its delivery, and instead of a vulnerable fragility, Mandell's intonation is boldly confident. With her newly released 2009 album Artificial Fire (Zedtone), she decided to flesh out her arrangements with upbeat guitar and concentrated drum beats, essentially creating a fuller rock sound. Mandell claims the change stemmed from her "inner teenager" desire for a rocknroll band that would incite lots of dancing. And it worked. "Two Faces" had a hypnotizing stop-and-start drumbeat with piercing, buzzy guitar as erratic Frankenstein lights flickered about the stage, bathing the grooving audience in the atmospheric glow. Guitarist Jeremy Drake often enjoyed stealing the spotlight with his playfully discordant guitar solos.

Mandell's likability was infectious, and the warm candor in her words invited shouts from members of the audience, although often unintelligible. The singer smiled and remarked that she loved a good heckle; there seemed to be a loving familiarity shared between herself and the anonymous faces in the dark shadows.

"Needle and Thread," a coy, psychedelic number with silky Grace Slick vocals that had Mandell begging to "keep me together," received another rousing applause from the audience. One of the most dynamic aspects of her live show was the seamless pacing of her set. Drastic tempo changes yanked the crowd from a lulling ballad to a frenzied rock song, shifting them from their idle fork-twirling to bouncing on their stools — a humorous contrast of formal restraint and vigor.

For her encore, Mandell came out solo, accompanied by an acoustic guitar for "Make-Out King." Her band then reemerged for the raucous "Pauline." Both songs boasted her witty lyricism and sense of humor, perhaps influenced by her eclectic literary heroes.

Although Mandell has been involved in the Los Angeles music scene for quite some time, collaborating with composers like Jon Brion and performing with groups such as the Grabs and the Living Sisters (which also features Inara George from the Bird and the Bee and Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond) she remains on the periphery of the mainstream. It's been a long yet prolific journey for Mandell, and with the recent acclaim of her 2007 album Miracle of Five (Zedtone) and 2009's hopeful Artificial Fire, its highly likely that will change soon.

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