Von Smith apparently believes in taking his audience on a vocal roller coaster ride on almost every song. The former American Idol contestant is blessed with a wide vocal range that puts a very high falsetto at his disposal, and he apparently believes he has to inject extreme high notes into almost every song, almost to the point of screaming  — not necessarily as a climax to the song, but at a point early on — before dropping an octave, then moving back up, then down again. Even in a simple, sweet song like “Nature Boy”  (Eden Ahbez), which Smith said is his favorite song, he found a way to work in a falsetto segment.

Besides powerful vocal chops, Smith also has a lot of energy, and he injects it into almost every song to the point of potentially tiring out an audience. Perhaps, as he develops as an artist, he will learn to modulate the energy and add more softer moments while downplaying the displays of vocal prowess in song after song. And he’s certainly capable of softer moments, as he demonstrated to great effect in one of his show’s best segments — a quiet, reflective reading of “Shiver Me Timbers,” the Tom Waits gem. Reflecting the fact he had moved away from his family to Los Angeles just a week earlier, Smith sang the song simply and with intense feeling — and without any vocal pyrotechnics — with tears filling his eyes and then rolling down his cheeks in a display of sheer honest emotion.

Smith said his own American idol, since he was a teenager, has been Sam Harris, and he had the opportunity to share the stage with Harris for two numbers. Their high-powered duet on “Proud Mary” (John Fogerty) was a classic, a performance of near-equals. But when they sought to repeat the magic on “Over the Rainbow” (Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg), Harris clearly dominated in style and vocal effectiveness, while Smith looked like a deer caught in a car’s headlights — the young, inexperienced performer he still is.

Smith also sang duets with E.G. Daily on “Telephone” and “Speechless” (both by Lady Gaga), in which both performers appeared to be enjoying their time together on stage.

Smith’s over-wrought, over-emotional vocal approach worked best on his encore, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” (Henry Krieger/Tom Eyen) — a pre-Idol recording of which has been a big hit for Smith on YouTube. He delivered the song with tremendous energy and power, with echoes of Jennifer Holliday in his performance but enough distinctive styling to call it his own. He even had a bit of fun with his own over-the-top presentation, halting before the last few notes to bid a final good-night to the audience before hitting those last amazing notes, which were totally appropriate for that song at that moment.

Smith was backed by strong piano support from Musical Director Chris Bratten and a trio of effective backup singers:  Erica Hampton, Jordan Rogers and Danielle Sadd.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
March 27, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org