I believe I first caught a Sharon Silva set in 2022 when she opened up for Jenny O, which I covered at the time for Buzzbands. Prior to that; however, I was familiar with her via The Wild Reeds and that dates back to 2013. I always seem to catch her playing with some awesome singer-songwriters. In 2023, she was on the same bill with Adriana McCassim. In 2024, she played a night that included Johanna Samuels and Valley Queen. I didn't happen to catch a set in 2025, but the opportunity popped up in early 2026 to catch a set at The Fable for Ryan Pollie's biweekly showcase.
 |
| Sharon Silva at The Fable |
The night had Silva opening it up by saying, "We've been given the all clear."
Her set started off with The Wild Reeds' 2018 release "Be The Change." It is possible that the song was on their setlist when I caught a 2018 set. Of interest, Johanna Samuels opened that night -- long time collaboration going on there.
From there, her remaining set was dedicated to her debut album Underachiever. I missed her record release party in November so lucky me -- getting to hear 6 songs from the album. The packed crowd was pleased, as well, as loud cheers accompanied each song. Many of them, no doubt, are much better fans than me and were also in attendance at that November record release party.
 |
| Sharon Silva at The Fable |
She kicked off the songs from Underachiever with "Spitting Image." It is a song where Silva hits those high notes and then brings her vocals in for the perfect landing. "You Never Knew Me" highlights a theme in her songs about being misunderstood.
Her song "Don't Spoil the Fun" was introduced with the story about her friend's belief that "the longer you have your weed gummies, the more potent they become." So the night before she had a bite of a year old weed gummy. Everything was "sparkly and rainbow road," but then she realized that she might be having a visual migraine so verifying her friend's belief was inconclusive.
The song "Hit the Stage" was about touring. It is a song about the drudgery of touring. Then there are friends having the more normal life and doubts creep in, "Friends having kids. And I don't know if I still wanna do this." The song ends with a most angelic vocals
 |
| Sharon Silva at The Fable |
Story of the set: prior to the set, she went to get a slice of pizza with a friend. A guy looked at the two of them and said, "Look at you two, the big hair."
The song spotlight goes to title track "Underachiever." She had Jonie (moniker for Jo Babb) join her on stage. I will say she looked familiar, but I could not place her until I was writing this blog post. I saw one song (maybe it was half a song) while rushing around Echo Park Rising last year as one of the official photographers. I remember asking what her name was so that I could properly label the photo for the festival.
The buildup to the song started off with Silva spending a lengthy amount of time tuning her guitar with her back turned to the audience and her two band mates giving her an amused look, "I'm not talking to anyone, that's why my back is turned." The song was written for her mom and sister. I'm assuming the song is about a moment when a relative was in the hospital. There is a mind meld of memories that would imply that good traits are passed down to children / grandchildren (not always negative ones that are so often expressed in songs, television, and movies).
 |
| Sharon Silva at The Fable |
Or snuck into the house by morning
I am a lot like you
Setlist: Be The Change, Spitting Image, You Never Knew Me, Don't Spoil the Fun, Underachiever, Hit the Stage, Hold It Down.
If interested, she will be playing Gold-Diggers on February 17th.
No comments:
Post a Comment