[All photos taken by Christine Thelen]
Wednesday night, one of the hottest new groups to come out of Brooklyn, Jessica 6, kicked off their tour and unveiled their debut album See the Light in live form at Williamsburg’s Cameo Gallery.
Before this took place, however, DJ Eli Escobar warmed up the crowd with some disco beats. Escobar’s new EP Desire features vocals by Nomi Ruiz, who is the vocalist of Jessica 6.
Jessica 6 took the stage very late that Wednesday night, but it quickly became apparent that the live experience of this band would be triple the experience of hearing any pre-recorded song. Nomi’s voice has the kind of feminine and powerful vocal quality that wows an audience, and the foxy glam she adds to this makes her an artist with true stage presence. Well known for their work together as dance outfit Hercules and Love Affair, the reformulated and newly named group exerts just as much musical talent as before but even more musical soul with the stronger addition of Ruiz’s vocals.
That night, the group showed no hesitation jumping into what turned out to be a 90-minute set of sexy disco mixed with R&B, soul, and old school hip hop. Although the atmosphere was extremely hot in that room and devoid of any pure oxygen, Nomi gave it her all while still maintaining her insidiousness and gracefulness. It was interesting to see the way the group members interacted, noticing how Nomi was always fully backed by her bandmates, Andrew Raposo (bass), Morgan Wiley (keyboards), and Jim Orso (drums). All instrumentalists featured on the album were present that night, including some trumpet players from the Midnight Magic camp and a sax player.
Seeing Jessica 6 felt like a special experience, as the group is quickly growing in popularity but can still play at smaller venues. We are looking forward to catching Jessica 6 again on July 26th at Mercury Lounge!
